


Detective and Thief: Twisted Reflections

by Phantoms_Echo



Series: The Writing Process [8]
Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: :), Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Complete, Conan is Third Person POV, Does this count as a meet-cute?, Drama, Featuring Conan, First Meetings, Hattori sees ghosts, I'm counting this as a meet-cute, KID and Conan exist in different worlds, KID is First Person POV, Kazuha can see auras, M/M, Reference to Alice in Wonderland, smoke and mirrors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-13
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-11-01 07:06:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 53,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20811056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phantoms_Echo/pseuds/Phantoms_Echo
Summary: Conan is known to draw cases to himself, but this time, it’s different. This time, the victim is still alive. The crime? They’ve been erased from history.Should Conan help this self-proclaimed thief? Or leave the man on his own?He has to find the answer fast, before his universe collapses entirely.___The sound of the crowd, the blue and red spotlights –ah! I do so love the thrill of the heists!Another gem, another success, except –oh! Who is this little detective?And why, after meeting him, does no one remember who I am?





	1. Foreword: To New and Returning Readers

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito, only the idea for this fic.
> 
> PS -Greetings from two weeks past! I'm hoping that I got this all in at the right time or close enough for most people. I'm trying to make sure all of my formatting choices stick and that I get the chapters in the right order, but if you see anything that doesn't seem right, please let me know!
> 
> I've got a quick foreword for you guys before we get into it! For those who aren't familiar with my series The Writing Process, please give it a quick read! For those who are, I encourage you to do the same, just to make sure you are familiarized with all the characters you are going to see. :)
> 
> I won't be putting Author's Notes at each chapter like I usually do, since I'm posting this all at once, but I'll see you again on the last chapter at the End Notes.
> 
> Happy reading! :)

Hey guys!

Before we get into this, I just wanted to give a short foreword to explain some things. Since this is a novel pseudo-written by Kaito and Shinichi, there are some name changes to be aware of. If you followed along with my series The Writing Process, you may know most of these, but here’s a comprehensive list just in case:

Jirono Sonaki = Jirokichi Suzuki

Shizuka Sonaki = Sonoko Suzuki

Rei = Ran

Hanaji Hakori = Heiji Hattori

Yatsuki Kudou = Yuusaku Kudou

Yukine Kudou = Yukiko Kudou

Aohime Makanori = Aoko Nakamori

Subaru Hakuga = Saguru Hakuba

Totoro = Kogoro

Kuzama Tomoya = Kazuha Toyama

Toushi Bokuro = Toichi Kuroba

Hakase = Agasa (Hakase just means professor/Doctor)

Ai Haibara = Shiho Miyano (given that Haibara is a secret identity anyway, her real name is used in Rough Draft while her cover name is Haibara)

Some other things from the series is that KID is written in first person perspective while Conan is written in third person view. I don’t know if that will make a difference to you, but I figured I’d let you know. Reasons can be found in the series itself if you want to give it a read.

I had a few surveys that people voted on and as far as our main character names go:

Shinichi = Shinichi (Conan is still Conan)

Kaito= Kaito (Though he is referred to as Kaitou, which is the same spelling as Kaitou KID or ‘thief’ in the un-ironic sense.)  
  
The cover that won the contest is on in the next chapter, so that everyone can appreciate it. :) I’ve put two images, with both sides upright so that people don’t have to flip their computer around to see it. Both the cover and this little foreword will skew the title chapters a bit, but I’ll re-write them to (hopefully) keep things in order.

If you want to leave a comment, I encourage you to add which chapter you are reading currently. AO3 does not give me the chapters, so if you are pointing out a missed spelling/grammar error, I may not be able to find it without a chapter tagged. I would encourage you to use the chapter titles that AO3 has as default, but they are only off from the actual chapters by 2, so if you don't, I should still be able to find and correct the error before long. :)

If some questions come up about the novel, like 'why did KID do this?' or 'Why did Conan say that?', please leave those in a comment as well. I have one more installment for this coming out next week. It's set up as a Q&A conference again, this time for both of our favorite authors. :) I'm trying to cover as many things as I can think of, but I've spent so much time with this project that I need fresh eyes to take a look. So if anything comes up, please let me know. :) Who knows? You might just find your question asked directly to our adorable boys. ;)

Quick Acknowledgements!

I also want to add a special thanks to [Thrushsong_kVaris](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thrushsong_kVaris/pseuds/Thrushsong_kVaris) for their naming suggestion and [Origami_Rose ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Origami_Roses/pseuds/Origami_Roses) for beta-reading this whole thing for me. :)

Origami’s comments were used as Sonoko’s and Aoko’s comments in Rough Draft, and were things I took to heart as I went through the editing process. They also caught all of my numerous spelling and grammar mistakes, including my consistent mis-spelling of Lewis Carroll. (-_-) Without them, I’m not sure this final product would have been nearly as good as it turned out. Thank you so much, Origami_Rose!

With that being said, please enjoy the culmination of this series. :)!

-Phantoms_Echo


	2. Book Cover




	3. Chapter 1

** _Eat me, Drink me_ **

** _I call with a Cheshire Grin._ **

** _The magnificent show_ **

** _Is staged right here_ **

** _Amongst the flowers painted red._ **

** _I will never be late twice_ **

** _Or I shall surely lose my head_ **

** _For a gem so dear._ **

** _I finally know_ **

** _Why rabbits stay so thin._ **

** _Drink me, Eat me._ **

** _-Kaitou KID _ **

It started with the note. White cardstock, handwritten, breaking news on the five o’clock. It was a small thing, unassuming, but it was the start of something new. If it had been any other day, Conan would have overlooked it. But it was not just any day. And it was not just any note.

Attention was brought to it by the most unlikely of sources. Shizuka would hardly say a word that was not related to this strange note and its even stranger sender.

“Ah!” she squealed like a woman in love. “KID-sama is holding another heist! Oh, my darling!”

‘_Another_?’ Conan wanted to ask. ‘_Darling_?’ He wanted to question.

Instead, he stayed silent, watching and observing.

“Do you know where it is he’s holding it?” Rei asked as she took off her school jacket. She set her bag to the side for later.

“Obviously!” Shizuka said, striking her haughty pose. “With all the references from _Alice in Wonderland_, he will be targeting my uncle’s gala tonight! No doubt to steal the Queen of Hearts!”

Sonaki Jirono was a very wealthy man. Many companies called him in to advise them in all sorts of affairs. For that, he was paid handsomely. Handsomely enough, in fact, for him to amass a large collection of priceless jewels from around the world.

In the process of doing so, he had garnered the reputation of decadence, but also versatility. He was known for his profession, yes, but also for his daring expeditions. His adventures most often ended with him on the front pages of newspapers the world over, but something had gone awry this time.

Jirono did not feature on the day’s front page for his collection’s opening and gala that night.

Instead, it was this note.

“Aw, KID-sama,” Shizuka sighed. “He can steal my heart any day.”

Conan narrowed his eyes.

Another thing that has gone awry.

Sonaki Shizuka was a woman with her head on straight. Rich, she may be, but stupid, she was not. She was not one to lose her cool at any little sparkle and this note was definitely a ‘sparkle’. Conan would have ignored it entirely had Shizuka not brought it to his attention.

Which made her reaction to the heist notice out of character.

“Kyaaah!” she squealed again. Her arms flailed, as if she could barely contain herself. “KID is coming to my Uncle’s Gala! I’m so excited!”

“To match wits or to ogle him?” Rei asked. Her hands were full with the day’s trash from Totoro’s office.

“Ogle,” Shizuka said. She blushed, then as if she had not meant to say the word aloud. “No, wait! Match wits, I mean! Unless he’s really hot. But no! He’s a criminal! Agh, I can’t decide!”

Rei laughed as she tied up the trash bag. “You always have this problem, Shizuka.”

Always? What a strange word. This was the first Conan had heard of her obsession. Indeed, the first he had heard of this ‘KID’ persona at all. With how exaggerated her reaction was, it was strange that he had never heard of either before.

The list of strange and awry things grew longer.

“I’ve decided.” Shizuka crossed her arms. Her expression showed determination. “I will match wits against him. He will notice my brains first and beauty second. Then, even if he escapes, he shall be haunted by my image and forced to seek me out. This will work for sure.”

Conan scoffed.

“You wish to say something, brat?” The look in her eyes was dark, challenging. If Conan had been who he was before, he would have taken her challenge without hesitation. Now, he could not.

Thanks to the poison known as Apotoxin, he had a cover to maintain. So he spoke lightly and with unnecessary cheer. “Of course not, Shizuka-nee-chan. I know you’re the smartest female detective around!”

She uncrossed her arms and placed her hands on her hips. “Only the smartest female?”

“Hanaji-nii-san is smart,” Conan said. The words tasted sour in his mouth.

“That paranormal-otaku,” she scoffed. “He shouldn’t even be called a detective.”

Conan had been inclined to agree, _before_. Before he had been shrunk, his view of the world had been narrow. After his unfortunate run-in with the Black Organization, he always took a closer look at things claimed as ‘impossible’.

Since becoming Conan and befriending Hanaji, he could no longer claim the fallacy of myths. Not touching on the supernatural itself, the things Hanaji had seen had led him to discovering and believing Conan’s situation. Even if Conan did not believe in Hanaji’s paranormal superstitions, he could be grateful that it led the detective to uncover Conan’s situation on his own.

Without Hanaji, Conan is sure he would have gone insane long ago.

“Hanaji is pretty smart, though,” Rei said. “Remember that one murder at his school? He figured the whole thing out and was back in the Kendo tournament before the finals.”

“Lucky break,” Shizuka insisted. “Are you finished with your chores yet? I want to case the place before KID gets there.”

“Let me just fix up dinner for Otou-san and get dressed,” Rei replied. “I think Conan-kun has a suit he can wear.”

“We’re taking the brat?” Shizuka pouted and looked down on Conan with a critical eye. She was not impressed. “I guess he can come, but you have to behave, boy. You hear me? I won’t have you embarrass us at the Gala.”

Conan did not want to go. He wanted to stay and read like he had not had the chance to. The look in Rei’s eyes told him that was not an option.

It could be worse, he supposed. He could be going to the spectacle of some serial killer instead of a petty thief. All things come with perspective.

Besides, this ‘Kaitou KID’ fanaticism was new. He had never heard of this thief before. Yet it sounded like these ‘performances’ were held every month, for quite a while now. This was very strange.

He would get to the bottom of this.

“Of course, Shizuka-nee-chan,” he said, careful to keep the childish smile in place. “I want to see KID-san too!”

“It’s KID-_sama_,” Shizuka corrected. She flipped her hair to the side, apparently done with him. “When you’re done, Rei, grab your clothes and make-up. We can get ready at my place.”

“Okay.” Rei grinned as she went about the kitchen.

As the two began to speak of the day’s proceedings, Conan took another look at the note. He took a picture with his phone so that he had time to read through it and think carefully.

Shizuka was correct. The thief would be coming for a gem in Jirono’s collection. All the jewels there were named and themed after various characters from Lewis Carroll’s stories. The Queen of Hearts seemed just as likely a gem as any to be stolen.

However, the more Conan looked, the more he realized the error in the other detective’s deduction. While the words appeared to point to the book _Alice in Wonderland_, there was a slight change in wording that told Conan a different story.

Using his phone to navigate the web, Conan came across a couple key facts that completely turned the notice on its head.

Perhaps this gala would not be as dull as he first expected. After all, it seemed an interesting character had sprung from the shadows, as strange as his origin may be.

And that was an origin Conan desired to know. This was the first he had heard of the thief, but from Shizuka’s languishing remarks, he had been around long before. Surely the news stations had to have record of him? Of the ‘heists’ he planned, of the crimes he had committed. There must be more information about this new opponent.

And there was.

News site after news site had real-time discussions going on. News casters referenced old articles. They pulled up old footage and interviews of common people and royals alike. There was so much information that it would have been a miracle to have hidden it from Conan until this point.

Which begged the question: Why was this the first Conan had seen of this thief?

He wondered if it was a question the thief could even answer, should Conan get the chance to ask.

Conan would get the chance. The thief had left a calling card and told the police _exactly_ where he would escape from. All Conan needed to do was wait for the thief there when the time came. Only then could he ask his pressing questions and capture the thief himself.

After all, the man had committed dozens of crimes and caused hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of property damage. Conan could not let a man like that go free.

He went with Shizuka and Rei in the Sonaki limo to the place they would get ready. He took little time to dress, far less than the women and so had to wait for them to finish. Then it was to the place of the gala —only a few floors down in the Sonaki Hotel, where Jirono always displayed his collections first before they toured to museums and other venues.

Guests arrived to be greeted by a multitude of security guards —police and hired hands alike. The guests meandered the party, eating hors d’oeuvres and drinking small cocktails. The guards lined the sides of the grand hall, the KID Taskforce uniform apparent. The men Jirono had hired stood closer to the item they believed to be the target.

Through the crowd, Conan saw the blonde haired foreigner, Hakuga Subaru, speaking with the Inspector. No doubt the two were patiently awaiting the thief’s arrival. They did not appear too worried, likely interpreting the notice the same way Shizuka had and assuming a far different time than the thief had given.

Conan knew better.

As time grew short, Conan wandered away from Shizuka and Rei. He did not want to be held back from the chase, which Rei would surely do. Instead, he positioned himself just inside the hall. At the first sign of a ruckus, he would race out ahead of the guards.

And that sign came.

The lights went dim. Gas canisters hissed open. The guests screamed. The Inspector shouted orders. Jirono shouted for his hired guards to retrieve the gem.

Before anyone could make a move, the partitions slid up from the floors. Full length mirrors decorated the room, standing as tall as a man. In seconds, the hotel ballroom had been turned into a fun house.

A light-hearted cackle filled the room and Conan slipped out the door. It was time for his chase to begin.


	4. Chapter 2

The helicopters milled about, wind created by their blades buffeting in all directions as the police scurried like ants far below. I laughed at the sight of Keibu-san yelling at his underlings. A familiar head of blonde hair made my lips curl into a grin. Lancelot-kun wouldn’t know what hit him tonight.

The gathering crowd was as big as any of my heists had ever been. It teemed like waves against sandy shores, clouds piling like great thunderheads. My fans, my addicts. They were both my audience and my greatest tool, but for tonight, I would have to do without.

My plans had been set far earlier than now. It had taken weeks of careful planning, of sneaking around Jirono's hotel entourage in order to prepare my trap. It had taken a bit of late night work to get all the smoke machines in place and to test out my trick. I could only be thankful that the party was not held in some museum, else I would have set off every alarm in the book.

Now, my hard work was paying off.

The crowds were all inside. The roof was clear, pointing to an ambush waiting for me in the ballroom. They could try all they wanted to trap me, but it would be for naught. For, though I would come in from above, I would not leave the same way.

I checked my watch, noting the time was close. The helicopters were flying patterns, all too easy to predict and evade. Then, it was a matter of landing and getting down the stairs before the next patrol spotted me. Down the stairs, to the ballroom, press the remote to activate the trap, then—

Show time.

I moved fast, swooping through the choppers at just the right time. I collapsed my hang-glider before I had even landed and did a quick tumble-roll to my feet before slipping down the stairwell. No alarms yet.

The elevators were carefully guarded, but Keibu-dono should have known better than that. Just outside the emergency stairwell to the ballroom, I paused and pressed the remote. The smokescreen went up and I heard the startled cries of my audience. I waited just long enough for the mirrors to start rising up, before I leapt out and onto one, using it like a step.

_One, two, three_! I leapt from one to another, quickly soaring over the crowd as the mirrors slid into place. On one, slightly taller mirror, I held position, scanning the audience for my favorite Keibu. I spotted him, red-faced, half-way across the room.

“_Kai-tou KIIIIID!”_ Keibu-dono called. “You won’t be leaving here with the Queen of Hearts!”

“Aw, is that so?” I laughed and squatted on the thin ledge of the mirror frame, lowering just enough to snatch up a different gem. “That’s okay, Keibu-dono! I’ll just be taking this one instead!”

“But that’s—!” Lancelot-kun called out from part-way between us. “The _Looking Glass Quartz!_ That’s not what you said you would target!”

“Hmm, didn’t I?” I straightened with my prize. “I guess you don’t know your literature as well as you thought, Lancelot-kun.”

“Of course I do! It’s a book from _England_!” He hissed. “And my _name_ is—!”

“Oops! Will you look at the time?” I held up my wrist, as if to check a watch. “Best be going! Before one of you finds a way out of this maze.”

_“KID! You get back here right now—!”_

“But, Keibu-dono, that would get me in a lot of trouble!” I smirked. “And you know I like _causing_ trouble, more than I like _dealing_ with it.”

And with that, I turned away, leaping across my created skywalk to my destination. The mirrors were framed and reinforced to hold the weight of a human, but it was only through persistent practice that I was able to land squarely on every narrow ledge.

Behind me, I could hear the guests and Taskforce slowly making their way through the maze. The guards were aggressive and pushy, but the guests seemed to be having fun, as the maze took them by every exhibit like some fun themed tour. Some of those at the ends of the maze turned back around to go in.

I smiled at their delight, then stole into the stairwell.

Down in the parking garage, I took a minute to look at my find. The _Looking Glass Quartz _was a plain looking pendant on a delicate chain. The size of it was comparable to my monocle though, making the size of it attractive enough, but I knew without even looking at it under the moon that this was not Pandora. It was clear all the way through, no other material in sight.

It had been a longshot, but I had hoped…

“I knew you would be down here.” The voice startled me, sent ice through my veins. No one should have known. Yes, I put my intentions in my heist notice, but no one had ever figured out the riddles before! Not in their entirety! Lancelot came close, but even then, I managed to sneak things under his nose.

Before I could begin to panic, the tone of the voice caught me —or rather, the pitch.

In a flurry of billowing cape, I turned to find… a child. Dark hair, large blue eyes narrowed at me —he looked _adorable_ in his little suit jacket and tie. Even his glasses, which were big on his face, were adorable.

This kid was adorable.

I just wanted to pinch his little cheeks.

“Did you get lost, boy?” I asked, crouching down in front of my motorcycle. “This is a crime scene, you know.”

“I know,” he said, before popping open his watch and —was that a set of _crosshairs_? His finger twitched. Instinctively, I pulled my cape up like a shield as the sound of a mini air compressor _pi-chik’d_ against my ear. It was followed by a low curse which —wow, the _mouth_ on this kid.

“International thief 1412,” the child recited like in those crime shows. “You are under arrest for repeated breaking and entering, theft of priceless artifacts, and damage to property, along with waste of law enforcement resources.”

You know, I thought I would dread the day those words were said to me, but… it’s hard to dread something so darn _cute_.

“How did you know I would be in the garage?” I asked. I needed to know who told him the answer to the riddle. I feel like the detective who did would be a fun challenge. More than Lancelot-kun anyway.

The child raised an eyebrow. “You said so in your notice.”

“I say many things,” I replied carefully. “Not everyone understands all of them.”

“Pity.” The child shrugged. “A genius riddler is only as good as the solver of his tricks after all.”

“Genius riddler, eh?” I felt a smile tugging at my lips. “And I take it you are my ‘solver’ then?”

“A detective is a solver of many things.” The boy lowered his head and narrowed his eyes. “Your cheap tricks are just a few examples.”

“Oh, feisty. And here I thought that ‘detective’ was only synonymous with ‘critic’.” I laughed and canted my hip to the side. “So, little Tantei-kun, humor me? What does my riddle say when it is solved?”

“There are six questions every good detective asks.” The boy held up his fingers. “Who, what, when, where, why, and how? The first is easy: you, Kaitou 1412, planned to steal from Sonaki Jirono. The ‘where’: Jirono’s Lewis Carroll themed party, by way of your word choice in your notice.”

“Obviously,” I leaned back on my motorbike, intrigued by the little detective.

“The ‘when’ was also easy. You reference a ‘rabbit’ several times in your heist notice. In the popular story, _Alice in Wonderland_, there are two rabbits: the White Rabbit and the March Hare -both of which interact with the Mad Hatter at Tea Time at some point. There are various tea times that you could have used, but most would assume 3 or 4 in the afternoon —an assumption that would be wrong as the gala did not start until 6:00,” the boy said as he tucked his hands into his pockets. “The correct answer would be High Tea, or 11 am.”

“So early?” I prodded. “Surely not.”

“It’s not early when one thinks of Time Zones,” the boy replied. “11 am in England is 7 pm in Japan. Just after the Gala started when the crowds would be at their largest and you would have the audience any magician would _die_ for.”

“Ah, you’ve found out my secret, neh?” I laughed good-naturedly. “I admit, I am quite the attention seeker.”

“I have found many secrets, but not all,” The boy slowly walked closer, his footsteps echoing in the silent garage. “Your use of Eat me, Drink me, and then the reverse, should tell your pursuers to take to the roof. After all, it is where you arrived. Your heist also notes heavily on time and losing your head, pointing to the Queen of Hearts as your prize —but both of these assumptions are wrong.”

“Oh?” I hummed. “Do tell.”

“The use of the reverse rhyme scheme inverts the direction you planned to flee,” the boy said. “It also denotes a _different_ gem that you had targeted tonight, one that reflects your _trick_ rather well, I might add.”

“Did you have fun in my little funhouse?” I asked, lips pulling wickedly against my teeth. “I originally made it for Keibu-dono, but I’m sure little detectives like you would have just as much fun.”

The child narrowed his eyes and ignored the taunt. “I have solved all of your riddle, but the one question I can’t figure out is _why_? Why go through the trouble of stealing in the most public place possible? Why entice the Taskforce to chase you? The price of those mirrors must have been _enormous_, more than that gem is worth. If you have such funds, why steal at all?”

I thought about answering the child, actually _thought_ about it, which is more than I’ve ever given to telling another person about the drive behind KID. I thought about telling him about my father, about the life I had lived in the shadow of someone great and gone. I thought about telling him about the mythical gem that had been the cause of all this, but…

I didn’t.

Instead, I asked. “How long did this take you, boy? Who did you get help from?”

The child frowned and glared. “No one _helped_ me solve your little riddle and I had just as much time as everyone else. The notice only showed up on the news today after school.”

That was a lie, the notice I sent in had been the talk of the week. Jirono had nearly thrown a _fit_ when his Gala had taken a backseat to my notice for every prime time news outlet there had been that week. Whether the child knew this or not didn’t matter, because his words…

In my own experience, children rarely told lies, especially with a straight face.

This child really believed that he’d only seen the notice that afternoon and, put that together with the current time…

I stared at this… this… _child_ who had solved my riddle in a matter of _hours_. That notice had taken me a _week_ to come up with! And yet… I didn’t feel angered or embarrassed about being outsmarted by someone half my age.

I felt elated.

Because here was someone who could challenge me. Here was someone who could make me _work_ for my prize. Here was someone who, as they got older, had the potential to _catch_ me.

Here was someone to make this game fun again.

“Who are you, boy?” I needed to know the name of my new challenger, my new _detective_.

“Edogawa Conan,” the boy said, crouching to touch the side of his right shoe. “Detective.”

“Well, Tantei-kun.” I straddled my ride, ready to leave before Lancelot realized his mistake and Keibu came rushing down with his men. “I do hope I’ll see you again next time.”

“There won’t be a next time,” Tantei-kun said as sparks crackled at his feet. I didn’t know what it was, but I _wanted_ one. “Because I’m going to catch you right here, right now!”

“Oh, but if you do that, you might lose that gem in your pocket.” I pointed to his little jacket.

Tantei-kun glared at me before shoving his hand into his pocket. Awe broke out over his features as he pulled the large quartz pendant from his jacket. “How did you…?”

With his attention adequately diverted, I kicked my bike into gear and tore out of the garage right as Keibu and his men burst from the stairwell.

“And just so you know!” I shouted over my shoulder. “The name’s KID!”

Then I revved the engine and sped away under the spotlight of choppers. In the next second, the spotlight was empty.

I didn’t go immediately home. Doing so was just _asking_ for the police to tail me. So instead, I drove around for a bit, making sure I had no tail before continuing on. I stopped by the _Blue Parrot_ to drop off my motorbike with Jii-chan and left on foot. It was nearing midnight when I finally arrived home.

My keys, ID, and wallet had all been left in my room, just in case. Losing them at a crime scene was a terrible way to be found out after all this time. Because of this, though, I didn’t have a key on me. Instead, I had to scale up to the second story and slip in through my unlocked window.

Or what _should have been_ my unlocked window.

I wondered, not for the first time, if my Blue Princess had come through and locked up the house for me. It wouldn’t be the first time, but it was understandably annoying when it happened. Grumbling to myself, I shook out my lock pick and made quick work of shimmying open the lock. The faster I succeeded, the sooner I could get in and away from the potential of Blue Princess seeing KID outside her window.

The Old Town Clock struck midnight just as I succeeded and slid the window open.

I had just landed on the desk… when the lights went on.

Oh no.

Please no.

Was my Blue Princess still here? Had she heard me open the window? Was this really how, after all these years, I would be found out?

The person wasn’t Blue Princess.

It was…

It couldn’t be.

That face, those eyes…

“Who are you?”

That _voice_!

“Tou-san?” I whispered for fear that speaking louder would break whatever frail illusion this was.

“How did you get in here?” Tou-san demanded, brandishing a trick wand like a weapon. “Who are you?!”

“Tou-san, it’s me!” I held up my hands against his wand. “Your son!”

His warm eyes narrowed coldly. “I have no son.”

My lungs clenched up, making it hard to breathe. My eyes flew about the room, my _childhood room_, but there was no bed, no closet full of clothes, no poster leading down to the KID cave.

There was no trace of me here.

“Out,” he ordered. “Get out!”

I flew out the window.


	5. Chapter 3

Conan returned the gem to the Inspector, who in turned, handed it over to Jirono. Shizuka's uncle was pleased that he had 'bested' KID The Inspector was happy that the gem had never left the hotel grounds. Conan, however, was not happy.

The trick with the mirrors had been easy to unravel. It was a simple hidden mechanism that moved the mirrors up and down. The tops of the frames had been painted to blend in with the tile floors, perfectly concealing them. The smoke machines had been hidden as well, behind decorative carvings dispersed throughout the ballroom. The real trick was getting everything in place without Jirono or his staff being any the wiser, but with enough time and effort, Conan supposed it could be done.

What left him stumped, was the last trick the thief had pulled. In Conan's pocket had been the gem KID had stolen that night. He had seen the thief hold it up before starting his bike. Conan _knew_ the thief had it in hand.

Yet, it ended up in Conan's pocket, despite the fact they were never in arm's length of each other. Conan had made sure of that.

Such a thing was not physically _possible_. So just how did that thief accomplish such a thing?

Conan thought circles around the problem, trying to come up with every possible solution, but nothing stood out. Nothing he had seen of the thief that night had pointed to any skill that could be the answer. Maybe the answer did not lie with what was accomplished that night, but at previous heists?

What other seemingly ‘impossible’ things had the thief achieved?

After police questioning, Conan delved into the history surrounding Kaitou KID. In the car ride to Totoro’s detective agency, Conan looked up every credible news site he could find. He searched through the archives as he brushed his teeth and readied for bed. He watched news reel after news reel of old footage, trying to ascertain the trick KID had used.

He still did not have an answer when Totoro yelled at him to turn off his phone and go to bed.

In the morning, his mind still toyed with the problem, unable to let such a gimmick unexplained. It could not be anything too complex. KID had not been expecting him, or anyone for that matter, so it had to be something that was easy and quick to pull off. There had to be something in those videos for him to glean an answer.

But the news footage was gone.

He frowned at his phone, still open on the pages he had accessed the night before, but the pages displayed an ‘Error 404’ message. Not just one but _all of them_. Those in the open tabs, those in his search history, those in his bookmarks —all of them were broken links.

How was that _possible_?

More importantly, _why_?

If it were a criminal bent on keeping their face hidden, Conan could understand, but it was not. KID made no little show of his challenge to the police. He had exclaimed his target and played to his audience. This was not the mindset of criminal trying to hide.

(Why he did not, Conan did not know. However, the man himself had said he sought attention.)

So what point was there to delete old footage? And why now? The footage had been there before the heist. It had a publish date of far older and never before had the links been broken.

The news did not have a word to say about the broken links, nor the heist. It was as if neither had happened at all

The situation was confusing beyond all reason. Conan did not know what to make of it.

“Conan!” Rei called as she grabbed her purse. “Shizuka and I are heading to the book store. Do you want to come with us?”

No, he wanted to figure out just what was going on with the world surrounding KID, but he knew if he thought much more, he would give himself a headache. “Coming!”

That did not stop him from thinking about it all the way to the store.

Conan was still pondering his dilemma about the missing articles and sites, when something caught his eye.

A despondent man, sitting on a dumpster in an alley, as if his entire life had ended.

Though the sight was unusual, Conan would have passed him by, were it not for a single, eye-catching fact.

The man sat there in a full suit and hat ensemble. White suit, white hat, white shoes. Were a man to wear a suit, he would not sit leisurely upon a dumpster. Doubly so if it were a white suit. The very image he was seeing should not be so.

But that was not why Conan stared.

He stared because that man in the suit and hat, was _Kaitou KID_.

It had to be him. He looked exactly like KID had the night before. Same blue band around the hat, same fluttering cape, same befuddling monocle. There was no way it was not KID.

So why was he not drawing a crowd?

He drew stares just fine. Eye-catching suit like that, it would be hard not to. If the police caught word of this, the Taskforce would be crawling all over that alley. The thief would be caught for sure; Conan had no doubt. However, no one seemed to want to approach him like they had the night before.

Maybe Conan was mistaken?

If this white-clothed apparition was the same as last night, Shizuka would have said something, would she not? Perhaps she had not seen the man?

“Shizuka-nee-chan?” Conan tugged on the hem of her shirt. He pointed to the man in the alley. “Doesn’t he look a lot like Kaitou KID?”

She gave the alley a calculating look. “Who?”

“The man over there!” Conan pointed to the alley again. “Doesn’t he look like him?”

She side-eyed the boy. “Who is KID?”

Conan opened his mouth, but… that was not the answer he was expecting.

“Is he one of those characters on your cartoons?” she asked.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a character like that,” Rei noted. She tilted her head in thought. “No, nothing comes to mind.”

Something was wrong. Shizuka had spoken of nothing but KID the night before. Now, she did not recognize him.

“Kaitou KID? International thief 1412?" Conan reminded her. His brow knit together at her continued ignorance. "The reason we went to Jirono-san's party last night?"

"We went to my uncle's party to show support of his new exhibit. I invited Rei because I didn't want to be bored and you decided to be a nuisance and come along," Shizuka said. There was not a hint of lie in her words, nor a hint of the fangirling Conan had seen the night before.

It was as if she truly did not know about KID. Put that together with the vanishing websites and things turned even more bizarre.

It was as if KID had been born and erased in a single night.

But that was an impossibility. For one, no matter how well one could erase evidence and digital news, there was no way to erase the memories of every person to attend the gala the previous night. For two, the man was _right there_, sitting on a dumpster in broad daylight.

And yet, Rei and Shizuka had no idea who he was, despite the fact the heist had only been the night before. Something was going on here, but what?

Conan had a feeling the man would know. He was the center of the inconsistencies after all. He had to ask.

But first, he had to deal with the suspicion he had roused.

“Conan, are you sure it wasn’t just a dream?” Rei asked. “You stayed up awfully late last night. Perhaps you’re just tired?”

Rei was so good, giving him the perfect out like that.

“Yes, it was a dream,” he said. “But it’s also a character in a new show. The Shounen Tantei-dan were talking about it.”

“I’ve never seen you watch it.” Rei pointed out.

“I watched it at Hakase’s house,” Conan said. It was a lie, but a necessary one. He did not know why the two women did not remember the thief, but he was determined to find out. What better way than to ask the man himself?

“Well, even though he’s from your show, I’m sure he doesn’t want to be bothered right now,” Rei said, offering Conan her hand. He took it reluctantly, knowing he was about to be dragged away. “Come on. Shizuka and I need to get the new study books that were supposed to come in yesterday!”

“Yeah…” Conan agreed, though he kept looking back as they walked off. The shop was not too far, so if KID would linger just long enough, Conan could sneak out while Rei and Shizuka’s backs were turned. KID did not look like he would be going anywhere anytime soon.

Every second dragged on until Conan managed to sneak away and head back the way he had come. Only five minutes had passed, but had KID already moved on? If he had, Conan was not sure he would be able to find him again.

He need not have worried, though. The man was just where he had left him, lonely and forlorn on the dumpster in the dim alley. Cautiously, Conan stepped closer, wanting to make sure of himself.

At his steps, the man looked up. He looked into those shadowed indigo eyes and Conan knew who this stranger was. He knew he was right.

Though the lighting was different, the shadow cast on the man's face was the same as the previous night. The glint of glass was the same monocle that held a small charm tied at the end —clover, now that Conan was close enough to observe.

Those lips pulled into a smile, though it was a poor facsimile of the bright grin from the night before. Those eyes looked sad. "Ah, Tantei-kun! Good to see you again! Or, I guess, the first time for you?"

"Kaitou KID." Conan watched those eyes widen in surprise; that grin frozen on his face. "Tell me, why does no one remember you?"

“I think the better question, Tantei-kun…” The smile drifted down into a neutral, curious expression. "Is: _why do you_?"


	6. Chapter 4

I had lost Lady Luck's favor.

Not only was my father (late father, the one who died, the one who was _murdered) _living in my house, I had no home to return to! The man who wore my father's face didn't recognize me. Jii-chan had barred me from the Blue Parrot because I was ‘too young to enter’. I didn’t even attempt to contact the Blue Princess or the Inspector.

I wasn’t sure I could have handled seeing vacant looks on their faces in my presence. No, I didn’t think I could have handled that at all.

On top of that, I only had the clothes on my back in my possession. My cards and tricks remained where they were, but my wallet was gone, left on the desk of a room no longer mine.

I was out of luck and out of options. I could pickpocket to survive, but that would only buy me so much time. When would the weather get too cold to live outside? When would my small-time crimes show up on polices radar? What had happened to land me in this position in the first place?

Being on the other side of Lady Luck's favor sucked. I'd like to file a complaint.

Scuffs of sneakers on pavement had me looking up from my temporary perch. The new face nearly startled me —or not-so-new face, as it were.

It was curious little Tantei-kun from the night before.

He was the only one in the group of officers that had correctly determined my escape route. Even Lancelot had guessed incorrectly and had to scramble to catch up with the rest of the Taskforce. The boy’s breakdown of my note had been so precise. Tantei-kun's mind was a thing of beauty.

How much of a challenge would he pose if he were older?

"Ah, Tantei-kun! Good to see you again!" I found myself saying without thought. Which, was a very creepy thing as he _didn't remember me_. "Or, I guess, the first time for you?"

Just… good. Come off as a stalker of a little kid. A pedo-stalker. That won't get me arrested or anything. I should have just kept my mouth shut—!

"Kaitou KID," Tantei-kun said, blue eyes hard with recognition and determination. Wait, did he say—? "Tell me, why does no one remember you?"

_Why does no one remember you_? The million dollar question, but even more important is another one. "I think the better question, Tantei-kun, is: _why do you_?"

Because if I knew anything in my life of magic and reality warping stones, it was that the outliers would point me in the right direction. The Red Witch was proof of that...

The Red Witch! Maybe she was behind this! I wouldn't put it past her. She had used far more powerful magic for less and she _did_ hate me. I should try to see if I could find—?

"Answer my question first," Tantei-kun demanded. "If I don't know how you disappeared, I can’t explain how I still remember you when no one else does."

"A true magician never reveals his secrets," I said with a playful smile before sighing. "That's what I’d like to say, but I can't claim this as a trick of my own. It has put me in a... very tight spot, so if I knew how to undo it, I would have done so long before now."

"You have no idea?" Tantei-kun looked disappointed. "No idea at all?"

"I have some theories, but I doubt you'd believe me." I rested my chin in my palm. "Though, if they don't pan out, I’m back to square one."

His eyes scrutinized me, feeling like a laser to my very soul. "You have nowhere to go, do you?"

I tensed. "Why would you say that?" 

"You're still in your clothes from last night," he observed. "A well-known thief like you, your first instinct would be to change, to conceal yourself and prevent anyone knowing your identity. The fact that you haven't implies that you have nowhere to go and nothing to change _into_." Tantei-kun gave me a pointed look. "Your family doesn’t recognize you, do they?"

Ouch, straight to the point. My heart ached.

Somewhere out on the street, someone called for Tantei-kun.

"You better go." I nodded to the entrance of the alley. "Don't want you to get in trouble for talking with a stranger."

Tantei-kun frowned. "I'm not done with you yet. Besides, where will _you_ go?"

"I've got some leads to follow..." I answered vaguely.

"And if those don't pan out?" He raised an eyebrow. He looked smug when I had no answer. He took my hand and tugged off my glove to scrawl something in pen on my wrist. "I'm giving you an address. The key is under the mat. Stay there until I am able to come for you. No one lives there right now, so it will be safe to hide there."

I stared at the address, unable to process what was happening. I started today with no one knowing my name, _either_ of them, and no money to my name. Now I had shelter and maybe even new clothes waiting for me. Looks like Lady Luck hadn’t abandoned me after all…

Tantei-kun turned away to go to whoever had called his name, but my hand shot out instinctively. If he left my side… would he remember to come back?

Tantei-kun looked back, perplexed by my actions. Admittedly, I was too, but… the words fell from my mouth before I could stop them. “You’ll be there, right? You’ll come back?”

_You won’t forget me?_

“Of course I will, stupid thief.” Tantei-kun rolled his eyes —sassy, ain’t he? He patted my hand away. “After all, you are a puzzle I cannot stand to leave unsolved.”

With that cryptic comment, Tantei-kun left the alley and returned to the two girls. The dark-haired one immediately crouched to talk with him. Heiress-chan kept her eyes on me.

I had run into the Sonaki heiress more than once on previous heists. She always seemed nothing more than a crazed fangirl, but now? When she had no idea who I was? Only that I had been speaking with her young friend?

The look she sent me was _terrifying_.

Without a word, I slipped down to the other end of the alley to escape her glare.

As much as it pained me to leave the one person that seemed to remember who I was, it was a necessity. If nothing else, he had given me a safe haven to flee to for now. I would make use of that while it lasted.

I searched for streets signs, finding the address was clear on the other side of town. Since I didn’t have a bus pass or wallet for the subway, it took a long time to get there. When I finally arrived, I couldn’t help but stare in awe.

I was expecting a small house or maybe apartment, but no. Tantei-kun had sent me to a _mansion_!

The thing had at least two stories and upwards of five ground-floor rooms. There was a tall stone fence that surrounded the place along with thick iron gates that barred entry. It was impressively formidable.

And that was just what I could see from the front!

Was this really the right address?

After checking the address against the one written on my wrist for the third time, I decided to go in. Scaling the fence was easy. Getting inside even easier. I didn’t even need a key to be honest, but I supposed I owed it to my host to be civil.

The house was full of knick-knacks and photo frames, but hardly looked lived in. A layer of dust covered everything in sight. Perhaps someone had lived here a while ago, but not now, not anymore.

Looking closely at some of the pictures, I recognized the same boy in many of them. One of the owners, perhaps? What I noticed most was that he and I shared a striking resemblance.

The two girls in the pictures struck me as familiar. I believe they were the same two I saw with Tantei-kun today —Heiress-chan and her friend —though many years younger. Were they friends with the owners of the house? It would make sense as to why Tantei-kun seemed so sure of sending me here.

The rest of the house was empty, as was the fridge. The cupboards, however, had some non-perishables that I could fix up and devour. Going all day with no food or money with which to _buy_ food was scary, but a day was better than the alternative.

Stomach full, I felt a little more stable than earlier. The clock showed it had been about two hours since I first arrived. Tantei-kun hadn’t given me a time for when he’d get here, but he had promised to arrive as soon as possible.

I just had to be patient, one of my few weaknesses.

While I waited, I decided to tour the house. I’d explored the kitchen and found the expected dining area and living room. There was a half bath on the main floor and a ¾ and full one on the second floor. One master bedroom and one child’s bedroom. I said child, but it was more like a teen’s room. There were more photos of the boy from before with the girls again.

The last room in the house was a two story study, walls lined with _books_. I had never seen so many books anywhere but at a book store! It was like an entire library had shoved itself between the book ends of the room!

This was the type of room to hold a secret door.

Before I got the chance to look, though, the front doors opened with a call of, “I’m home!”

I almost started to panic that Tantei-kun was wrong, that the owners had returned, but I recognized that voice.

“KID?” Tantei-kun called from the entryway. “I see your shoes here. I know you made it.”

I poked my head out of the study. “Welcome back!”

It took a few seconds for him to follow my voice, but he found me soon enough. “You’re in the study. Good. Take a seat.”

I looked around and spotted a couple chairs scattered around the room. I chose one in a darker corner, by habit of hiding my identity, even though no one seemed to remember me.

Well, no one but Tantei-kun.

Did it even matter then? If I kept my face secret or not?

“Let’s get down to business,” Tantei-kun said as he came over to stand in front of me. “How much do you know about what’s going on?”

“Not much.” I shrugged. “Only that my friends and family don’t recognize me, nor, it seems, does anyone else.”

“Except me,” he said.

“Except you,” I confirmed, feeling my heart give a painful thump. “It’s like I’ve been erased from everyone’s mind. Here yesterday, gone today.”

“And yet I have a different view.” Tantei-kun put his hands in his pockets.

“Different view?” I repeated.

“Before yesterday’s heist, I had never heard of you,” Tantei-kun said and —that brought me up short. Who had never heard of KID? “Shizuka had made it sound like you were some big thing, some international legend…”

“I am,” I replied, fiddling with my cape. It wasn’t often I spoke like this with someone while in costume. In fact, I could count on one hand the number of encounters. His words didn’t ease my nerves.

“But the thing is…” Tantei-kun waved his phone in gesture. “Since this morning, I couldn’t find any mention of you in the news. No history of heists, no criminal records, nothing.”

That… didn’t make sense. “Let me see.”

He handed his phone over easily and I brought up my favorite news station. The blue star in the corner said it was a favorite of his too. But a quick glimpse told me he was right. No mention of last night’s heist, no ugly shots of Keibu-dono, even my favorite articles were missing from the website’s archives.

It was like… I didn’t even exist _at all_.

And, didn’t that fit with what I had run into so far?

My house was not my own. Jii-chan didn’t let me into the bar, not even to use his phone. The media didn’t bat an eye at me wandering the streets.

My father…

It made sense, but… _how_?

“I don’t exist,” I said aloud. The words sent a shiver up my spine. “In your world, I don’t exist.”

Tantei-kun nodded. “But you came from a world where you _do_ exist —and one where you have made quite a name for yourself.

His tone made me sheepish, but I forced myself to not react.

“The question is how.” Tantei-kun put his fist to his chin as he regarded me with eyes too old to be childish. “Parallel universes have been theorized before, but that’s just it, they’re _parallel_. They’re never meant to touch, let alone leave something behind.”

“Some_one_, thank you,” I corrected hotly.

“You know what I mean.” Tantei-kun rolled his eyes and scratched at the back of his head. “I’ll have to go to Haibara for this. She knows more about theoretical physics than I do.”

“How long will that take?”

“Like, five minutes? She lives next door.” He took his phone back in order to give her a call. “Haibara? I need you to come over. No, not Rei’s house, next door… got it.”

Ending the call, his hands disappeared into his pockets as he gave me another once-over. “So, who are you?”

I blinked. “Kaitou KID.”

“No, I mean, the person under the mask.” His gaze darkened. “Unless KID is all you are.”

“As much as I like to think that sometimes, there is a person under this hat and monocle,” I said as I took off each in turn. I held them apart with a wide flourish before poofing them away. “Unfortunately, that person is nobody in your world. They don’t… _I_ don’t exist.”

He frowned harshly. “Are you sure? How do you know?”

“I searched my name with your phone.” I shrugged, then laughed when he immediately brought it up to check the search history. I rested my chin on my knuckles. “I’ve already deleted the search history. What do you take me for, Tantei-kun? An amateur?”

“Who knows? I don’t have any information on you.” He put his phone back in his pocket. “It was worth a shot.”

“Not sure how much good a name would do you anyway.” I pointed out. “Since you can’t arrest me if I don’t exist.”

“I’d find a way,” Tantei-kun vowed, then scoffed. “Besides, I was looking for something to _call_ you. Having a kid call you ‘KID’ would be weird.”

“Ah, I suppose so. Then…” I smiled sharply. “You may call me Kaito.”


	7. Chapter 5

Kaitou —a simple name. It meant Thief. It suited him. It made sense with his profession.

Conan was not sure how he felt about it. He did not get long to wonder before Haibara arrived to help contemplate his dilemma. He led her through the house to the study before he gestured for her to sit. She took it as a signal to ask her questions instead. “You called, Edogawa-kun? I was in the middle of making dinner.”

“Ah, sorry! He called on behalf of me.” KID waved from his seat. “Although, a young girl like you making dinner. You must be very responsible.”

She stiffened immediately upon seeing Kaitou KID. Conan knew what was going through her mind. She was thinking of the Black Org, of how they had finally found her and sent someone to put an end to her life. It was the first thought she had of anyone.

Conan had to correct her assumption.

“Haibara, this is Kaitou KID, an internationally wanted jewel thief,” Conan said. “Kaitou, this is Haibara. She’s the one with more knowledge of theoretical science.”

“Her?” The man wrinkled his nose in disbelief. “Isn’t she a little young to be studying theoretical physics?”

“She’s smarter than her age implies,” Conan answered.

Haibara was not happy about the surprise visitor. She leaned in close to Conan, until their shoulders brushed. “What is this about Edogawa-kun?”

“Kaitou here has found himself in an interesting set of circumstances.” Conan brought up his phone. “He does not exist.”

Haibara looked between his face and his phone. It was obvious she did not understand.

“Last night, I attended the Sonaki Gala,” Conan explained to her. “The gala had received a notice that a certain jewel would be stolen from the exhibit. A taskforce of highly trained officers was tasked with guarding the jewel.”

Kaitou giggled.

Conan stared at him until he had his attention again. “Shizuka attended with the intent to catch the criminal, but also to… woo him.”

Haibara frowned. She turned her attention to the so-called Kaitou KID. He was juggling a small set of foam balls found somewhere on his person. “Sonaki-san does not usually go after the criminal type, though she has been known to favor the sad tales of weak men.”

“This appeared to be more than that,” Conan said. “She made a large spectacle of his notice, which was sent out across every news network. She seemed infatuated, yet I had not heard of him before yesterday.”

“Every news network?” she asked. “But that can’t be. I have no recollection of any heist, notice or not.”

“So, too, does Shizuka not remember her own ludicrous plans to capture Kaitou,” Conan said. He held up his phone again. “When I went to research the thief last night, I came across many news articles and theories. Now, the pages are all missing.”

Haibara took his phone to check the site addresses. Sure enough, there seemed to be many legitimate names in the search bar, but all pulled up blank sheets. Even the downloads folder held corrupted files and broken links. “It is like his existence was wiped off the face of the earth.”

“Or belongs to another one,” Conan agreed.

Haibara looked up. Her brow furrowed. “You are thinking about a different universe. A parallel one?”

“I don’t have any other explanation.”

“It’s an interesting one, but there is no way to cross the threshold of one into another. It’s as impossible as a human flying under their own power.”

“I can fly!”

Kaitou proceeded to do just that, levitating off the chair he had been lounging in.

The thief was floating. Haibara stared at the man.

Conan ran to get an umbrella. He waved it over the thief’s head to check for strings, but there were none. He checked all around and under the thief, but there was nothing.

What the thief was doing was physically _impossible_.

Conan prodded the man, making sure he was not a projection.

"Careful, Tantei-kun! I'm ticklish!"

The man was real and he was floating.

"I don't understand." Haibara grabbed her opposing elbow. "That... that goes against all laws of physics! How are you doing that?!"

"With this." KID flashed a small lapel pin. It held a small ring of pearls and a beautifully cut Tanzanite embedded in gold. The tanzanite had a strange sheen to it, as if displayed under bright fluorescent lights. The lights in Conan's home were not fluorescent though. There was not nearly enough light to produce that effect.

"Many of the stones I target are said to have magical properties," KID explained. He righted his jacket so that the pin was nestled back on the inside. "Those whose legends are true, I keep."

Conan scowled. "So you really are a thief."

"Only to keep them out of worse hands." KID shook his head. "There are bad men bent on taking them by force and using them to forward their own gains. They will stop at nothing to obtain these gems.”

"So you, what, put yourself between these men and the owners of the gems?" Conan raised an eyebrow. When KID just smiled, Conan scoffed. "You are a fool."

“That and some of these gems hurt their owners, if they are not careful," Kaitou explained. “I’m truly doing my best to keep innocents from being hurt.”

"But how does a small gem like that cause this effect?" Haibara wondered. "Does it create a field around you that rejects other atoms? No, because you're still breathing and we can hear you. Sound can't propagate without a substance to travel through."

"I... don't really know the how?" KID scratched his head. "It's just _magic."_

Conan and Haibara stared at him ruefully. Conan rolled his eyes. "Right, magic."

"You don't believe me?" KID frowned.

"Magic doesn't exist." Conan turned his nose up. "Just scientific anomalies we haven't explained yet."

"... You are a strange child," Kaitou decided. "Shouldn't kids believe in magic?"

Conan tensed. That's right. He was a child. Children like Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko believed in the impossible. Conan was never like that. "I believe in reality. Unless it's proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, there's always a different explanation."

"Hmm... you have had a really boring childhood, huh?" KID rested his chin in his hand.

Conan sputtered, face red in indignation.

"He's got you figured out." Haibara crossed her arms behind her back. "Going back to a different universe theory, it is possible. If this man's world had technology capable of pulling such feats, it would be easy. But the requirements of that kind of experiment would necessitate a vast workload, many resources, and a machine on _both_ sides to complete a tunnel. As I heard it, you have none of those."

"Not at the heist and not before," Conan agreed. "And it wasn't just a one-off either. Shizuka and Rei went to the heist and participated, but today, neither of them remember anything. Unless KID did something..."

"I did not." KID waved a hand. "I didn't expect this situation either. It's kind of put me out, to be honest."

"If not, then we have to be thinking on a bigger scale." Conan thumbed at his bottom lip.

"All of the things you've said could point to a convergence of two alternate universe, but it could also be explained by other things, I am sure." Haibara shrugged. "The fact that it just _happened _doesn’t help explain why or how, which is really what we need."

"But it's possible," Conan clarified.

"Possible, but unlikely," Haibara reiterated as she turned away. "Though, I suppose if magic is possible, anything is. But that is conjecture and fantasy and therefore, out of my area of expertise. I'm sorry, but you're on your own."

Conan thanked her and followed her to the door to let her out.

"Charming girl," KID said when he returned. "She like that with everyone?"

"That was her being friendly." Conan took a seat on the couch. "Okay, let's work with the alternate universe theory. Why did everyone forget?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." KID dropped back in his seat. "Everyone was there, so they had to have seen me. Every other heist is the talk of the town for _days."_

"But I’ve never heard of a heist at all." Conan put his heels on the couch cushion and his elbows on his knees. "Last night was my first."

"And maybe last." KID let out a huff and flailed childishly. "Ugh, this sucks!"

"Wait, what if..." Conan's eyes trailed the pattern of the carpet. "What if everyone did remember?"

"But they don't?"

"No, think of the universes like the sun and moon." Conan held up his hands, palm up. "Two separate entities, but when a solar eclipse happens," he held one hand over the other. “The moon takes the center stage, while the sun carries on behind it. When they separate..." his hands moved apart and past. "They continue on like nothing happened."

"Sorry, but you've lost me." KID dropped his head to one side.

Conan let out a frustrated breath. His way of thought was hard to put into words. "Okay, let's try this. Each universe has a memory bank for people. One for mine and one for yours. When our universe merged, the memory banks merged. Shizuka remembered every other heist she had attended as did Rei. Those memories were from your universe. After the universes separated, they lost those memories."

"Because those memories belonged to the other memory bank, the one I'm part of," KID finished quietly. "They can't remember me here because I don't exist in this memory bank."

Conan's stomach twisted. "Or you chose not to be KID."

"No, my father didn't recognize me at all." KID shook his head. "From the glimpse I got, there were no pictures of a wife or child. My childhood room was an office. The 'me' that I am out of the suit, never existed."

Conan's lips pressed together. It was sound logic as dark as it was. "That may be why you switched universes, but no one else did. There is a copy of everyone else, but an empty slot for 'you'."

"And also why I remember my life from before. I have no other memories in this universe." KID paused, then looked at Conan in alarm. "Wait, but... that sounds like you."

It did. If Conan's logic were to follow the same path, then he should be in KID's place as well. "I have no memories of your universe. Last night was the first heist I had ever heard of and I _knew_ it. Following your logic, that means... I don't exist in your universe."

"Or maybe just aren't born yet?" KID tilted his head. "You are young, after all. Who knows how accurate the timeline is?"

Conan was reminded again of his current appearance. He could not fault KID for having a skewed view, but if Conan had not been born yet, he likely would not be. "That, or I died at some point. We have no way of knowing. If we work with that assumption though, we need to figure out: why did you change universes, but I did not?"

"Which brings us back to the question of _how_ I did it in the first place." KID raked a hand over his face. His eyes had bags under them, most likely from a restless night after the heist and his universe switch. Conan wanted to continue to theorize, but it would be of no use if KID struggled to keep up.

"Rest tonight," Conan ordered. "There's some canned food in the pantry and clothes upstairs for you. Eat, take a bath and sleep. I have chores to do for Rei tomorrow, but I'll return afterwards."

"Are you sure whoever owns this house won't mind?" KID asked.

Conan had already explained the situation to his parents. The parts that mattered and weren't steeped in impossibilities, that is. They were letting him handle it for now. "I am positive. Now sleep. I'm leaving."

"Night Tantei-kun!" KID called as Conan went to the front door. Just as he opened it, he heard a much softer, "Thanks."

Conan smiled and closed the door behind him.


	8. Chapter 6

Tantei-kun had ordered me to sleep, but the itching under my skin kept me from it. Being in someone else’s house without the original occupants present did that to me. It felt like this was some place I didn’t belong, even though I had permission. There was no reason for it, except for my own anxiety.

I fixed up a dinner of canned food and filled the void that was my stomach, but the itching remained. I took a bath and switched into some slightly musty pajamas, but still the itch persisted.

The pajamas were just the right size, as was everything else in the room I found them in. Though the clothes weren't really my style, they would work for however many days I would be here. What got me, though, was a set of uniforms at the front of the closet.

_High school_ uniforms.

Surely that meant _someone_ would notice me living in their house? At least the high school aged boy whose clothes I was borrowing would notice? But the house remained quiet, the sun long set into darkness. Whoever these clothes belonged to, they weren't returning tonight.

Perhaps he was traveling with his family? The larger bedroom certainly looked like it belonged to a married couple. It smelled far dustier than the teen's room, though, as if they had been gone for longer.

Still uncomfortable in a house not my own, I wandered back into the library I had discovered before. Maybe I could read to calm my mind?

Most of the books were mysteries or plays and scripts. Not my usual cup of tea, but I could make do if needed. A series called _'Moonlight Magician'_ caught my eye, but then I spied the volumes next to it. Labeled with nothing but a year, they were twice the size of the books surrounding them. Curious, I pulled one out and turned to the first page.

...And got an eyeful of baby butt.

For as small as the child was, he had a stoic look on his face, as if he was suspicious of everything. The following pictures of the baby in various onesies and an increasingly upset expression on his face drew a chuckle out of me.

It only took me a few more pages to realize I had stumbled upon a family photo album. By the year, the baby was most likely the high schooler, whose clothes I was wearing.

I warred with myself, whether I should continue looking or not. Family photo albums were very personal and very private, but... would I ever actually see these people? Was this the only glimpse into their life I would get? Would I feel better about staying here, if I had some connection to the family allowing my presence?

I continued to the next page.

A man who was undoubtedly the father was holding the baby, looking at a complete loss as the infant screamed in still motion. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

The years unfolded. The child stood and walked on unsteady limbs, then ran in hundreds of soccer photos. He banged on the piano, then fumbled with a violin and posed in dozens of recitals. He graduated elementary, then middle school. Heiress-chan started showing up, along with the friend whose name I did not know.

He started appearing in newspapers, solving cases and earning awards. Kudou Shinichi was a bit of a celebrity, all things considered. Then, all of a sudden, the albums ended.

Of course they had to, the boy was still only a teen, just into his second year of high school, but... the last album was marked for the prior year. The last newspaper clipping was date April of the previous year.

It was now October. Surely _something_ had to have occurred since then?

I flipped back through one of the other volumes, something nagging at me. The boy's elementary years, where soccer and violins started showing up with regularity. I had to search carefully to find a full face picture, but when I did, I frowned, because that face...

That face was Tantei-kun.

Tantei-kun had glasses where this boy did not, but other than that, they could have been brothers. They weren't. Tantei-kun never showed up in any of the pictures, not even in the background like Shizuka and her friend. But they looked so similar.

It could have been coincidence. After all, _I_ could pass as the boy with a little contouring make up and a good hairbrush, but Tantei-kun… they seemed too similar for a merely superficial basis. And the fact that both were detectives?

I'd have to ask Tantei-kun when he returned tomorrow.

Or today, as the clock displayed a time well past midnight.

Re-shelving the last of the albums, I stood and stretched, a yawn escaping my lips. Looks like I was right and some reading, or rather snooping, was just what I needed to relax and get my mind ready for bed.

* * * * *

The next morning, I got dressed from the son's closet. His fashion choices and mine differed greatly, but his clothes were comfortable and I never needed much to make a simple outfit _fabulous_. I stared at myself in the mirror, wondering if I needed anything else.

A part of me wanted a disguise for when I went out. The Red Witch had always suspected me of being KID and I’d hate to confirm her suspicious. On the other hand, though, I had none of my disguise supplies on me. Without a base, even the most basic mask wouldn't come together.

But... did I need a mask?

The image of the high schooler in the photo album sprung to mind.

We weren't spitting images of each other, but if I could track down some toners and contouring make up, I could make it work.

Decided, I snuck into the master bed and bath, searching for the Lady of the House's makeup. She must have been a diva of some sort because I hit the _motherlode_ when I checked her vanity. Products of all brands and colors sat neatly organized by hue along its sides and back and in the drawers. Finding my shade was easy.

A couple minutes in front of the mirror and a little hair gel from the Master of the House to smooth my hair and I was good to explore as Kudou Shinichi.

First stop, the Red Witch.

Well, no. First stop was breakfast, but _after that_, the Red Witch.

* * * * *

The Red Witch was a bust.

It's not that she didn't remember me, it's that she wasn't _there_. Her mansion was vacant, ivy growing up walls and roof caving in. It had been empty for a long time.

So the hope that this was a scheme of hers died, leaving me back at square one with no idea where to go next.

As I walked back, I tried to think of my next step, when all of a sudden, someone yelled behind me. "C-Conan?!"

I stopped and turned, along with half the people on the sidewalk. The man who had called out appeared to be about my age, dark skin-tone and Osakan accent. His fashion style seemed to be a ball cap and loose clothing, easy to run and move in. His green eyes stared at me like he'd seen a ghost.

Okay, weird.

Even if he thought I was the high schooler whose clothes I wore, wouldn’t our expressions be reversed? Because I had been caught by some person who I had no clue about and he was just calling out a friend?

And Conan was Tantei-kun from last night. I was—?

"Conan!" He ran over to me, eyes still wide, though they seemed to scan the streets around us now. "What are you doing here? And like this?! I thought you said little Nee-chan refused to give you an antidote!"

I blinked. "Heh? Antidote?"

"Yeah, antidote!" the teen answered, brow furrowing. "Unless you found some other way to change back, like that alcohol I bought you..."

Alcohol?

"I'm sorry, I think you may have me mistaken for someone else." I gave him a polite smile and tried to back away. "I don't know you."

"Don’t know me?" He frowned before his eyes widened further with sudden realization. "You—?"

Then he paused, looking around at the other people that had stopped to gawk. All their eyes were on him, waiting for his next move.

Apparently, that was to grab me by the wrist and drag me off without another word.

I had no choice other than run after him or be literally dragged, so I kept up as well as I could. He crossed several streets before turning down another. For the second time in as many days, I found myself hiding in a cramped alley.

The man who led me here was breathing heavily from our sudden sprint. I was used to such random chases, though, so I just waited for him to catch his breath and let go of my hand. I had no idea what was going on, but I was suddenly wishing I had more than just one smoke-bomb on me.

"Soo..." I started uneasily. "Want to tell me why we suddenly started running?"

"Tell me what you remember," he ordered.

"Um... well..." I made a show of thinking. "I was walking around, minding my own business, when all of a sudden, some random person shouted 'Conan' really loudly, and then you ran up to me, and started talking-?"

"Not from just now!" he hissed, his grip tightening. "Before that! How did you end up like... this!?"

"Like what?" I asked, testily, because if he was dissing my clothing choices I would be so—!

"Like this!" He gestured at me before saying quietly. "_Dead_."

I stared at him. He stared back.

I blinked. "Heh?"

"If it's the Black Organization, I need to know, so I can get Nee-chan out of here!" he said in the same stern quiet tone. "If it's someone else, I need to start tracking down a murderer—!"

"I'm not dead." I frowned. "If I was, could we speak like this?"

"I can talk to ghosts," he said, looking a bit apologetic. "I know I never told you when you were alive, but you were always so_ dismissive_ about anything supernatural that I just..."

"I'm… not a ghost?" My eyebrows rose of their own accord.

He frowned at me, looking frustrated. "Look, I don’t have all the time in the world to convince you! We need to start investigating—!"

"But I have a heartbeat." I pointed out.

He froze, mouth open mid-word. His eyes went down to the wrist he still held in his grasp. "... You have a heartbeat."

"Yep." I watched him.

"But... your skin is ice cold!" He looked put out.

I shrugged. "So I didn’t grab a jacket when I should have. Big deal."

"You weren't panting after our run!" he argued. "Ghost don't need to breathe!"

"Maybe I’m just in better shape than you."

We stared each other off for several more minutes before he let go and sank down into a crouch with a heavy sigh. "So I just dragged off some random stranger and outed myself for nothing?!"

"Well, I wouldn’t say total stranger." I crouched next to him and put my chin in my hands. "If your Conan and my Conan are the same, then technically, we're friends once-removed. Though, why you called me by the name of an elementary detective, I have no idea."

"Elementary detective?" he repeated, looking up.

"Unless your Conan is different." I shrugged again.

He stared for a few more seconds before his face went serious. "I have to make a call."

"Okay." I watched as he stood and dug out his cellphone. I could take this chance and escape, but I had nothing better to do. Besides, he apparently knew Tantei-kun. He couldn’t be a bad person, right?

And seeing ghosts... the Red Witch commented on such things in the past. Perhaps he was key to figuring out a way home?

“Conan?” the man asked his phone. “Yeah, can I just ask _why the hell there’s another you walking around?!_ Like WTF, man!”

Or… maybe not.


	9. Chapter 7

Conan got the call at noon. Hakori Hanaji had found a doppelganger of his older self on the streets. Apparently, he knew Conan. When Hakori used the word 'Tantei-kun', Conan knew exactly who he was referring to.

He had not thought the thief looked like him. The lights had been dim, though, and the thief hid his face most of the time. It was a possibility.

Conan had instructed them to go to his home and wait for him. He could not sneak away without alerting Rei, so he had to finish up his chores before he left unless he wanted to get grounded. Being grounded was something he could not afford with KID in his world. When he had finally finished his chores, he was allowed to go. He immediately headed towards his home, dodging the Shounen Tantei-dan as he did.

There, he was met with a smile and a glare.

"What took you so long?!" Hakori demanded.

"Welcome back!" KID greeted.

"Thanks." Conan nodded to KID before fixing his gaze on Hakori. "I couldn't just leave Rei, you know. Rei would be mad if I didn’t finish my chores and I’d get grounded. Speaking of, why are _you_ here? Didn’t your father ground you after the last case?"

"I smelled a mystery and couldn't help but follow!" Hakori turned up his nose. “Plus, my punishment was lifted yesterday. Keep up with the program, Conan!”

"A mystery in Tokyo?" Conan raised a brow. "That you smelled from _Osaka_?"

"It was a potent scent." Hakori shifted his gaze to KID. "And he was at the source. Just who is this guy, Conan?"

"Kaitou KID, phantom thief and magician extraordinaire!" KID introduced himself with a flair of his hands. "Pleasure to meet you."

"A _thief_?!" Hakori turned disbelieving eyes onto Conan. "Since when do you work with criminals?!"

"Since he doesn't exist." Conan took off his backpack and set it by the door.

"Doesn't exist?" Hakori frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Kaitou KID is a national celebrity," Conan said. "He performs heists on live television, well within reach of local law enforcement. His heists become hugely televised events. Some foreign dignitaries have heard of and spoken with him too."

Hakori scratched the back of his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Heists? Televised? That’s ridiculous! There’s never been such a thing!"

"There was one two days ago," Conan stated.

"Heh?" Hakori gave him a side-eye. "I don't remember anything like that."

"Exactly." Conan crawled up onto the couch and sat.

"... You've lost me."

"No one remembers anything about KID, that night or before." Conan looked over to where the thief was watching their interactions. "Except for KID and myself."

Hakori made a face. "Conan, bro, I want to believe you, but... that's impossible."

Conan's lips turned down. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but I’m telling the truth. The first I heard of KID was the night of Jirono's gala. Shizuka was going on and on about him like some kind of fan girl."

"That doesn’t sound like her," Hakori said.

"Doesn't it?" KID looked surprised. "I've never seen her differently."

"It doesn't," Conan confirmed. "And the next day, she had no idea who he was. Not a single recollection of the multiple heists she claimed to have been at the night before."

"It's like he was erased from her mind..." Hakori scratched at his chin in thought.

"Not just hers, but everyone's memories," Conan said. "Even from articles and archived news stories. It's like he never existed."

"Are you sure he did?" Hakori gave KID a wary look. "Are you sure he's not just pulling the wool over your eyes? That it wasn't some fever dream?"

"I know what I saw, Hakori," Conan said harshly. "If you don't want to believe me, that's fine, but don't try to brush off my memories like some passing delusion."

"Okay! Okay!" Hakori held up his hands in defense. "I get it. You believe him. So what is he doing here now?"

"We believe he was pulled from an alternate universe into this one," Conan said carefully. "Haibara theorized it is possible and that the memory lapses would be a symptom of such an event. We want to send him back home, but..."

"We don't know _how_ I got here in the first place." KID let out a sigh. "I went to follow my only lead this morning, but it fell through. You found me when I was walking back."

"Lead?" Conan sat up.

"It was a long shot." KID shrugged. "I know a witch in my universe. I was hoping this was one of her pranks —she likes to prank me a lot, sometimes with mental or bodily harm. I was hoping I could talk her into putting me back in my own universe, but her house was empty, so it was a no-go."

"Wait a minute." Conan closed his eyes and held up his hand. "Let me get this straight. You went to a witch, a person who hurt you multiple times it sounds like, to possibly convince her to send you home? If she even knew how in the first place? Do you know how _unreasonable_ that sounds?"

"I mean, she's got a crush on me, so I figured it was a fifty-fifty shot." KID shrugged.

"Do you even hear yourself?" Conan leaned forward, hands on his knees. "For one, _witches don't exist!_"

"Magic exists. I showed you that." KID rested his chin in his hand. "What's to say witches don’t?"

"That was magic from your universe! Not mine!"

"Um..." Hakori waved to get their attention. "She's not a witch, but I might know someone who can help?"

"Are they some award-winning scientist who has made a break-through on inter-dimensional travel?" Conan crossed his arms and leaned back. "If not, I don't see how they can help."

"Hey, don't be a negative Nancy!" KID flopped his hand at him. "Ghost-kun here might be onto something!"

Conan's brow furrowed. "Ghost-kun?"

Hakori froze up; his face paled.

"He never gave me his name." KID shrugged. "And he mistook me for a ghost the first time we met. I thought it fitting."

"You mistook him for a ghost?" Conan scowled at Hakori. "How do you even do that?"

Hakori attempted words multiple times, but it was KID who answered. "Sorry, it's my fault. I dressed up like the guy who lives here without doing my research. Apparently, he's been missing for a while? That or dead—?"

"He's not dead," Conan said sternly. KID flinched at the sudden force behind his words. "He's _not_. He’s just... got a really big case. It takes up all his time."

"So much he doesn't even come home to sleep?" KID's eyebrows rose. "His sheets smelled dusty."

"How do you know—? Never mind." Conan shook his head. "He's out of the country, undercover. He _will_ be coming back."

"When?" KID asked. "Will I have to move out?"

"It's fine. He won't be back until you're long gone." Conan thought of the antidote Haibara was working on and how little progress they had made. Yes, KID would be long gone before Conan was cured.

KID's gaze was carefully blank, but his answer was flippant. "All right then."

Conan felt his muscles release a tension as he looked back to Hakori. "Now, back to this whole 'ghost' thing. Why did you think he was one? Ghosts don't exist."

"Uhhh..." Hakori drew out the syllable, trying to buy time.

“Of course they do!” KID argued. “The witch I know would talk about them all the time!”

“Again, the witch in _your universe, _not mine,” Conan retorted. “Here, magic and all that doesn’t exist!”

“Doesn’t it though?” Hakori asked weakly.

Conan’s eyes narrowed on him.

“Just… Okay…Let’s back up a bit.” Hakori let out a pressured sigh through his lips. “So, you know how I just seem to… know things sometimes during heists?”

“Via facts and deductions, yes. You aren’t the only one, Hakori.”

“Right, and how I sometimes can just… find exactly the things we need to uncover tricks or motives and whatnot?”

“I believe you have called them ‘gut feelings’ when they’ve come up in cases, yes.” Conan frowned. “Where is going, Hakori?”

“Well, remember that one time I found that old gravesite in the forest? For the supposed ‘mermaid’ that village worshipped?”

“And subsequently found a whole skeleton, not a half-human, half-fish skeleton, along with lit incense, showing that someone knew and had visited the site recently, yes.” Conan’s brow furrowed. “I was always curious how you managed to find such a well-hidden clue out in the middle of the forest, especially since they had claimed there wasn’t even a grave to find-!”

Conan stopped mid-sentence. Hakori grimaced.

“No.” Conan denied.

“Conan, I know you don’t want to believe me, but it’s true.” Hakori sighed. “Spirits of the victims have been giving me hints on where to find evidence and other clues for their cases since I was in kindergarten. I know it’s not normal-?”

“Of course it isn’t!” Conan leapt to his feet, standing on the chair. “_Ghost do not exist!_ I might have believed in an almost supernatural ability to find evidence after years of detective work, but claiming that _spirits of the dead_ told you where to find the murder weapons is completely outside the realm of reality!”

“This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell you!” Hakori shouted, sparing a glare in KID’s direction. The thief cowered back, not knowing what to do in this situation. “I knew you wouldn’t understand! I knew that you would play it off like some kind of theatrics!”

“Because it is! Ghosts don’t-!”

“Tantei-kun.”

“KID, don’t you even start with your mag-!”

“_Tantei-kun_.”

Conan cut himself off, glaring at the thief. KID stared back, face a calm mask of indifference. Though his face was blank, Conan could feel the disapproval of his actions. Conan bit the inside of his cheek and looked over to Hakori.

Hakori did not look at him. His face was turned away, unable to meet Conan’s gaze. With Hakori’s darker complexion, it was hard to tell, but Conan thought his face was flushed in mortification. His shoulders were drawn up, as if to guard himself against Conan’s words.

Conan took a slow breath and thought.

It was obvious that Hakori did not take this reveal lightly. As logical as he was, Hakori would have known it would not go over well with _anyone_, let alone Conan. People who made such claims —mystics, shamans, and soothsayers—turned into laughing stocks when their lies came to light. Hakori had to know what he was putting out there. He had to know he would be ridiculed.

He had kept it from Conan on purpose. In the year he had known Hakori as Conan, the other teen had never made mention of it. The reason he had now?

Because he saw KID disguised as Conan’s rightful form, and thought him dead —an actual ghost, the only way Hakori would have been able to convince Conan of his abilities despite all logic. He had accidentally revealed himself to KID, but the point stood.

Even when they all convened at Conan’s house, Hakori had not breathed a word. It was _KID_ who brought it up this time, unwitting in his naming habits. Had KID not brought it up, would Hakori have ever told Conan in the first place?

Something in his gut told him ‘no’.

Conan wanted to declare the whole thing a fantasy. Whatever Hakori claimed, whatever he thought he saw or heard, whatever ‘help’ he swore he had, Conan wanted to dismiss it.

And yet…

_“If you don't want to believe me, that's fine, but don't try to brush off my memories like some passing delusion."_

His words from earlier came back to haunt him.

Hakori had no evidence with which to persuade Conan about his abilities. Neither did Conan have any to persuade Hakori about KID.

How could he ask for trust in something he could not prove, but not offer the same?

Conan did not like it, not one bit more than KID’s magic, but he would not press the issue here.

So he let out a slow breath and sat back down. “What is this someone you think can help?”

Hakori looked up, shocked. “Huh?”

“This person. You said she isn’t a witch.” Conan’s mouth screwed up at that. “But that she may be able to help.”

Hakori wavered, but his shoulders drew back as he explained. “She’s a person like me. Has some… extra abilities. Nothing as big as… she’s good at finding things mostly. Lost items, runaway pets, things like that. She’s lucky like that.”

_Lucky_. Conan repeated in his head.

“I can’t guarantee that she’ll be able to help, but if you’ve ‘lost’ the way your thief friend got here, she’s at least a good bet.” Hakori folded his arms.

“It’s better than anything I’ve got right now.” KID shrugged. “Is she free today?”

“No, she’s got a test coming up on Monday.” Hakori shook his head. “Probably won’t be free until next weekend, but I’ll make sure to talk with her about it.”

His eyes skated to Conan.

Conan pushed back into his seat. “I’ll talk to Rei and ask her if I can go on a trip. Osaka, I assume?”

“Better believe it.” Hakori grinned, falling back into his rough nature. He pushed off the wall he had been leaning against. “Well, I’d better start heading home now. Much longer and I might get grounded… _again_.”

“I’ll show you to the door.” Conan pushed off the chair and to his feet. Hakori outpaced him easily, but Conan did his best to keep up. He hated the constant reminder of what he no longer had.

“This is quite a case you’ve managed to find yourself in, Conan,” Hakori noted at the door. “You sure about this?”

“Like I said, I saw what I saw. KID needs help.” Conan paused, then added quietly. “I should have trusted like you did…”

Hakori’s eyes widened, realizing what Conan meant. His grin went bright as he ruffled Conan’s hair. Conan protested loudly. “Sonaki-chan is right. You’re a good chibi.”

“Hey!”

Hakori laughed himself out the door. The only reason Conan did not follow, was because he had a certain thief waiting on him. So, glaring at Hakori’s back, he let the slight to his stature slide for now.

Just for now.


	10. Chapter 8

"So, what's next?" I asked when Tantei-kun returned.

"Next would be speaking with the person Hakori recommended," Tantei-kun answered as he crawled back onto the chair. "But that won't happen until next weekend. I'll be going to school tomorrow, since I am still required to by law, so I won't be able to research any other possibilities. You on the other hand…"

"Am free to the point where I'll probably be bored to tears," I affirmed, setting my chin in my hands.

"I suggest seeing if there are any others like Hakori around here." Tantei-kun made a face, as if the thought of more people having 'magic' in his world disgusted him. But he didn't say a word, which was a step in the right direction. "Though, how to test them for authenticity is another matter entirely."

"So you trust him then?" I asked. "You trust that Ghost-kun actually...?"

"His name is Hakori Hanaji," Tantei-kun corrected, though I resolutely decided to keep my nickname. "And I don't know if I believe him without solid proof, but... I asked him to trust me without any. It wouldn't be fair if I denied him the same."

I smiled. "You know, for a child, you are quite wise."

He huffed indignantly. "If you aren’t able to find any more leads, you’re free to look through the library, use the television, and whatever other means you can find to entertain yourself. I’ll introduce you to the neighbors so you don’t freak them out.”

“Neighbors, like Onee-chan?” I asked.

His nose wrinkled. “Did Hakori give you that nickname for her?”

Oh, was _that_ who Ghost-kun was referring to? I had just decided to call the little girl that because it sounded adorable, yet mature —just like her.

“Anyway, yes. Haibara lives next door with Hakase. You’ve met her, but haven’t met him yet,” Tantei-kun said. “They’re also a good place to go to for food if you run out of recipes to cook. Speaking of, the weekly delivery comes on Tuesdays, so you should get some fresh stuff soon.”

“Soon?” I cocked my head to the side. “The kitchen was empty of anything fresh though. What happened to last week’s shipment?”

“Rei took it so that it wouldn’t go bad—shit!” Tantei-kun cursed. I had the irrational urge to wash his mouth out with soap. “I forgot about her! If she comes here and sees you, she may attack you.”

“Attack me?” A shock of fear went up my spine. “Why?!”

“She usually comes around to do some cleaning and clearing out the fridge,” he explained. “She’ll freak out at having a person here.”

“So I’ll just leave when she normally comes by.”

“She’ll freak out even _worse_ if she sees you looking like…” he frowned. “That.”

“This?” I modeled my face. “This face? She won’t like it?”

“Like I said, the person whose face you are wearing is undercover.” Tantei-kun frowned. “He hasn’t told Rei anything about where he is or how long it’s going to be. So she’ll be a little… upset with him. Or… more like a _lot_ upset.”

I blinked at the admission. I thought of trying to pull the same thing with Blue Princess and just imagined myself being killed under a pile of scaly wet f-f-f-f—_beasts_. “How has she not killed him yet?”

“Mostly, she hasn’t caught up with him yet.” Tantei-kun grimaced. “But if you look like that…”

“Right. Got it.” I wiped a hand over my face, messing up the makeup. “No more Kudou Shinichi.”

Tantei-kun stiffened. “How do you know that name?”

“Hmmm?” I thought for a second, then realized he’d never actually told me the name of the family I was borrowing the house from. “Oh, I found some newspaper articles and absolutely _adorable_ baby pictures of him in the library! He’s quite the Renaissance Man, isn’t he? Sports, music, and the logic of a detective —he must be quite popular at school, huh? And he’s got such a cute baby-tush!”

“Th-Those are private!” Tantei-kun sputtered, red-faced. Probably embarrassed on his relative’s behalf. “You shouldn’t go looking through those things!”

“Are they actually going to know?” I asked, brow raised. “Besides, I learned a few things from them, should I ever have to impersonate him.”

“I just got done telling you to not-!”

“Also, I realized that you look a lot alike,” I interrupted, not looking for a lecture. “You and him when he was your age.”

Tantei-kun froze, face pale.

“Are you related in some way?” I wondered aloud. “You aren’t brothers, or you would have shown up in his albums like Shizuka and… Rei? Is that the other girl?”

“We…” he choked on the words. “We aren’t… brothers.”

“I suspected as much.” A suspicious feeling was coiling in my stomach. “Though, you look too similar not to be related in some way. And you are close enough to the owners of this house that they trust you to let a complete stranger live in their house.”

“I’m his cousin,” Tantei-kun said slowly. “Once removed. On his mother’s side.”

I have told enough lies to recognize one when I heard it. What could be so important that Tantei-kun, —sweet, little, six-year-old Tantei-kun —would lie about it? And something so innocuous too.

I wanted to press, but he looked just like Ghost-kun had earlier when his secret had been revealed —only worse. Whatever it was, Tantei-kun didn’t want to share.

That was fine. Everyone had their secrets, me especially. I wouldn’t ask… but I couldn’t let this go.

Perhaps I could add another topic to my research this week…

Tantei-kun seemed relieved when I dropped the subject and instead led me to the house next door. While the house I was staying in looked like a mansion of sorts, the one next door looked like a high-tech lab I would find at home in a Science Fiction novel.

Onee-chan lived there, along with a much older man, Professor-san. I might have questioned such a young girl living with an elderly man, but Tantei-kun said she was his grand-daughter who had moved in with him after her parents died in a fatal crash. Looking at it that way, I couldn't help but empathize. 

Onee-chan took her grandfather's health too seriously for the story to be fake either. She obviously wanted him to live and he obviously wanted to enjoy life's pleasures like steak and chocolate (though not together). She also was the one to cook in the house, as he usually forgot or just ordered take-out when he got sucked into his inventions. She micromanaged so much of his life, that I almost felt sorry for the guy.

I also kind of wondered how he had survived before she came to live with him.

The meal they shared with us was wonderful and healthy and I made a note to return if canned food got tiring. I only knew so many recipes after all.

After meeting Ghost-kun, Onee-chan, and Professor-san, I spent my week indoors, catching up on every current event I could get my hands on. Reading newspapers and internet articles, watching the news station broadcasts at the top of every hour. I needed to know how similar or different this world was compared to mine.

Big historical events like wars and floods were the same, as were the customs and habits of the tourist population. Even landmarks were the same, if off by a few minute details. I found articles of the Red Witch over in Russia and some suspicious brochures about different gem stones, belying a hidden magic in this world too. In fact, there was only one difference I could tell between my world and this one.

This world had a disturbingly high number of homicides.

I may just not pay them much attention in my world, but something tells me that having seven homicides in a week (one per day) was too much, even for Tokyo. The ways the people were killed seemed to get more and more convoluted too, as time went on.

But rarely did a murderer go free. The city was _crawling_ with detectives.

Totoro, Heiress-chan, even little Tantei-kun and Ghost-kun were involved in many cases, though Ghost-kun worked primarily in Osaka. Lancelot-kun was still mainly in Theft and big name cases, but his name too, showed up in multiple articles.

Quite honestly, it was astounding, but that was the main difference between Tantei-kun's world and mine —other than my non-existence.

I wondered, idly, if his world had a version of my enemies here. After all, Pops was still alive and hadn't fallen victim to an 'accident' during one of his shows. Though, that could be because he chose to become an ordinary magician instead of a Phantom Thief.

Not taking a life of crime does wonders for a person's lifespan.

He was just as skilled as before though —more so, with so much experience under his belt. I managed to watch one of his shows, to experience the awe I’d felt so long ago that inspired me to follow in his footsteps.

It took everything I had to walk away from that show without calling out to him.

But it just cemented to me that this was indeed a different world, not one I had been erased from. It hardened my resolve to find a way back to my own. Even if... Even if I never saw him again.

After I had searched the house for bugs and recording devices and the computer for any surveillance, I set about to my next task.

Who was Tantei-kun? How did he connect to this Kudou Shinichi? And where, exactly, was Kudou?

It was easy to find information on the older detective. He was a second year high school student with a penchant for sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.

His mother was a famous actress, hence all of her makeup and the various costumes I had caught a glimpse of in the closet.

His father was a famous author, writing a number of mystery novels, some I’m sure I remembered seeing in the library. No doubt, a vast majority of the books there were research material. It appeared the master of the house also doubled as a consultant to the local police department when they came up against a particularly hard case. Typically, that was only when he was in country and Totoro or Heiress-chan were unavailable.

It seems Meitantei followed in his footsteps in terms of consulting with the police, with the added dramatics of his mother’s side.

Speaking of, it didn’t appear that she had any relatives around Conan’s age. He had said he was related through the mother, but no matter how far back I went, I couldn’t find someone with his family name in the lineage. There were many Fujimikos, Yamamotos, Ojiros and Meitomas, but no Edogawas.

It could be that a branch had been disowned somewhere up the tree, but would they have such a good relationship otherwise? It didn’t seem likely to me.

So that was one lie already down.

There were no articles about any undercover work Kudou could have been doing —no official statements from police, no connections to government organizations that I could tell. That wasn’t really surprising, given the confidentiality of such a case, but as much of a public figure as he was before? He would have given away _something_, if only to boast about himself. But not even his own classmates knew where he was.

I know. I asked.

It was like he just disappeared one day without a trace.

Funnily enough, someone suddenly _appeared_ around the same time, also with no trace to them. No birth certificate or civilian identity. No hospital records or educational documentation, despite being in first grade. No corresponding family members that I could even attempt to talk with.

Who was this person, but Tantei-kun?

Just what was the connection between these two? Tantei-kun claimed to be related and they looked too similar not to be, yet there was no record of him nor even potential matches in the family registry. He claimed that Kudou had gone undercover for a case, but there were several news articles that declared him dead after snooping on one to many crime scenes. And the person Tantei-kun claimed to be was fictitious, having never been born in the first place.

I knew the facts. I knew a way they could be put together. I didn’t know how it was _possible_ though, not in a world that didn’t have magic like mine.

Or did it?

Ghost-kun could interact with ghosts. He claimed to know another person who could be of help to us too. Tantei-kun had said to search for others, something still on my check list to do. Perhaps there was more to this world than Tantei-kun knew either. Perhaps it sat just below the surface, waiting to be discovered.

So thinking, I tabled my investigation on Tantei-kun for the moment. (Ew, I sound like a detective.)

Instead, I turned my sights on possible avenues of help. I would have to do some running around, but I wasn’t aching for time in this world. Without a civilian ID myself, I couldn’t attend high school or pick up a job of any sort. For now, this was the best way to kill time until Ghost-kun introduced us to his friend.

The names of mystics and other ‘magicians’ whose names I managed to find kept me busy during the beginning of the week, but towards the end, I was going a little stir crazy.

I still had to endure an untold number of weeks in this empty house. I might just die of boredom.


	11. Chapter 9

Since he had to attend school, Conan had to leave a majority of the research to KID. He did not like this fact. Conan liked knowing relevant information as soon as possible. He did not like to wait. He especially did not like that he had to wait until he saw the thief next because the other did not have a phone. Conan's landline was there, but after calling several times and having the thief not answer, he figured it was a lost cause.

More than simple info exchanges, a phone was becoming essential.

Tuesday, Rei stopped off with Conan to pick up the fresh food like usual. Unlike usual, the food was already inside the house. It immediately sent Rei searching through the rooms for the person who brought the order inside.

"He's here. I know it!" she argued.

He was not. The thief was that smart at least.

Conan found a second floor window open in front of the large tree in the backyard. He deduced the thief's escape route and then closed the window before Rei could come stomping in. It would not dissuade her. She would no doubt check back every day, looking for signs of domesticity.

Yes, a phone was a necessity.

Conan ended up handing off his older self's phone. It would do until he could sneak out and buy a burner phone.

"Just don't answer to any name but mine," Conan said. He typed his number into the contacts.

"Yes, yes." The thief waved him off.

The phone came in use that Thursday when Rei decided it was a cleaning day. Conan sent a hurried text before she could notice and hoped the thief saw it in time.

When they got there, the house was vacant, not even the _feeling_ of someone living there. The fingerprints Conan had left on one of his previous visits had been erased and re-dusted to the point they were indistinguishable. Conan did not know how the thief did it. Or how he created dust so fine as to look real.

It caused Rei to doubt.

"Maybe he wasn't here?" she wondered out loud. "But the food was in the kitchen. Maybe..." —her face paled— "It was a ghost."

"Or Nii-san's parents came home?" Conan suggested. It wouldn’t do for her to start believing in mythical things. Ghosts and the like were not real.

Or were they? Ever since talking with Hakori, Conan felt doubt around the edges of his senses. It was a question he had not answered. It was one he did not want to address yet.

So he did not.

The two went upstairs and the second floor was the same. Dust on counters, floors, immaculate after their last cleaning day. Except the master bedroom where the covers were rumpled and the makeup on his mother's vanity shuffled. Clothes had shifted in the closet and a few postcards sat on a small desk.

"Ah, they must have come home from a trip," Rei reasoned. "Though, they usually let me know."

"Maybe they took off again?" Conan pointed to the post cards. "Those weren't in the mail, right?"

"They weren't," Rei agreed. She paced forward to pick on up. There was no post mark. The back wasn't filled in, not completely. Several were blank, but a few had familiar handwriting. They spoke of a longer trip and editors on their tail.

They were so exactly what his mother would do that Conan almost believed them. Had he not spoken to his mother the day before, he would have. He should have expected it after everything had read about KID's feats. Along with being a flawless disguise artist, the thief was a master counterfeiter too.

KID was turning into quite the opponent and client.

(Conan would not let him think of the thief as an ally. That led to a dangerous path.)

"It looks like they're headed to Greece next," Rei commented as she put the postcards down. "They had to stop and switch clothes before heading out again. They should be back next month or so."

Conan nodded in understanding.

The two finished their cleaning and left. When Conan looked back, a figure stood in the window of his bedroom. A pale face peered out the window, lips pulled back in a wide grin.

"Conan-kun," Rei called. He turned forward, looking to where she had stopped. "Something wrong?"

Conan looked back at the window, but the figure was gone. "I thought the trees looked a little overgrown."

"Hmm..." Rei looked at the house, head tilted in observation. "Ah, I think you're right. We’ll bring cutters next time, okay? And maybe gloves and trowels. I bet their garden is overgrown, too."

Silently, Conan applauded the thief on his job.

He ignored the part of him that whispered suspicions. Did KID not do _too_ good of a job of disappearing? Where would someone learn those kinds of skills? What kind of situation did they live in that such skills were necessary?

Conan was becoming more and more intrigued by the puzzle box known as Kaitou KID.

* * * * *

Hakuga Subaru was a bright student. He had a mixed heritage that meant he was raised bilingual. His mother was a champion chess player while his father was the youngest head of police in the last century. Both were well versed in fencing and hand-to-hand. They taught him those same skills should he ever need to defend himself.

He learned deductive reasoning from his father. He put his skills to use solving cases as a grade student and making a name for himself. At form school, he decided it was time to broaden his horizons and find challenges worth his time.

So he had transferred to his mother’s country. He had heard of a brilliant young detective like himself. Heisei Holmes is what the boy had been called. Subaru had come to challenge him, but as soon as he had arrived, the Heisei Holmes had seemingly vanished off the face of the earth.

No amount of Subaru’s deductive skills or his father’s double-O contacts could find him.

Subaru was dejected, but he had to finish out the year at the school he’d signed up for. There, he’d found another challenge for him to overcome, except…

He could not remember what that challenge _was_.

Ever since the Sonaki gala which he had attended, but did not remember being invited _to_, Subaru had this feeling. A feeling that he was missing something, some_one_. The impression was right on the edge of his perception, but with each day, it grew weaker. Now, four days after the event, its presence was practically non-existent.

The next day, he forgot it entirely.

* * * * *

Despite the minor hiccups, Conan managed to keep Rei off KID’s tail for the rest of that week. With a plan and schedule in place, Conan was sure the next couple weeks would be fine. In the long term, they might need to come up with something different.

Conan had no idea how long KID would be here before they found a way to get him back to his universe. Neither did he knew the effects it would have on his own.

He did not want KID to stick around long enough to find out.

So when he finally got a spare moment on Friday night, Conan called Hakori to set up their plan for the next day. They made plans, then Conan handed off his phone to Rei to get permission.

"I don't know, Conan." Rei wavered between him and the phone. "I really don't want you riding the bullet train on your own, but I have a karate camp all day tomorrow. Maybe you can do it next weekend?"

"No! It needs to be tomorrow!" Conan whined. Acting like a child was demeaning at best, but he knew it worked to his advantage. Conan very rarely insisted on anything unreasonable. The times he did so usually led to him betting what he wanted. Of course, he had to add incentive. "Hakase can take me! He’s got a convention down there!"

"Does he?" Rei looked surprised. “He didn't tell me."

He would not have, because Conan had just made it up.

"If I ask him, will you let me go?" Conan wheedled, pouring on the childish charm.

"Hmm... I suppose." Rei still did not look sold. "But I have to check with him after dinner is cooking."

"I'll call and explain!" Conan offered. He hung up on Hakori and immediately dialed a new number. He walked from the room so he could explain the situation away from Rei. The phone rang twice.

_"Hello? Conan-kun?_

"Hakase," Conan greeted serious and quiet. "I need to go to Osaka tomorrow, but Rei won't let me go without an adult."

_"I'm sorry, Conan-kun, but this is really short notice."_ The professor sounded harried. "_I can’t just pack up for a day trip the night before!"_

"I'm not asking you to," Conan defended. "I just need you to agree so Rei will let me go. I told her you were going to a convention. I just need to make it seem like someone is watching me for the train ride."

_"I can't help but agree with her though."_ Hakase's voice turned stern. _"I know you've got the mind of a sixteen-year-old, but you've got the body of a six-year-old. Too many things could happen if you go alone!"_

"I won't be alone," Conan insisted. "I'll have Kaitou with me and Hakori waiting for us on the other end."

"_Kaitou? The young man you introduced to me on Sunday?" _Hakase sounded unsure. _"Do we know him well enough to trust him?"_

"I do." Conan thought of the thief alone in a world not his own. Conan was the only person that knew him and could vouch for him. KID would not let anything happen to him too easily. Conan could trust that much. "Besides, Hakori is waiting for us on the other side. If anything were to happen, he'd know when we didn't arrive on the train."

_"That still gives two hours of time where anything could happen."_ Hakase’s voice was begrudging but acquiescent. "_Fine. I’ll help you out. Let me talk to Rei-san."_

"Yeah." Conan went back to the kitchen, persona childish once again. "Rei-nee-chan! Hakase wants to talk to you!"

"Nice timing!" she said as she put a cover on a pot. "The stew is all set, I just need to let it simmer."

Conan handed the phone over and let the two converse. It took a few minutes before Rei hung up, smiling.

"Hakase-san says he won't be able to watch you." Rei handed his phone back.

_Traitor!_ He glared at his phone.

"But he said his nephew is in town and that he'll be able to take you to Osaka," Rei finished as she turned back to the kitchen.

_Nephew...?_ Conan thought for a moment before, _Hakase, you clever dog!_

"He said you two have already met since he was there this past week," Rei commented from where she hovered near the stove. "He thought you guys got along, but I wonder since you didn't say anything."

"He's a magician," Conan answered a little petulantly. "He keeps doing magic tricks, then getting mad when I reveal how they were done. The Shounen Tantei-dan have started doing it too."

Rei laughed. "You are so much like your cousin some times."

Conan's chest tightened in pain. He did not need that reminder.

Leaving Rei to her task, Conan wandered off again. Phone in hand, he texted the thief to make sure he knew the plan.

We're going to Osaka tomorrow. Bright and early. 8 am train.

Why Tantei-kun, is this a date? ;)

You know well and fully it is not. We’re meeting with Hakori and his friend.

So we're third wheeling someone else's date.

Hakori is not dating anyone as far as I know. He would tell me otherwise. He has no self-control.

I know people, Tantei-kun. I read them for a living. His face when he spoke of his helpful friend? Definitely crush. I have no idea if it's returned, but he's definitely got feelings on his side.

Hakori did? Conan did not think so. Then again, Conan had not realize Rei had a crush on his older self until she told Conan. Then she made him promise not to tell her crush, but by then it was a little too late.

Could Hakori have a crush on his friend? Potentially. If he did, Conan would do his 'best-friend' given right and tease him mercilessly. It was what Hakori did when he found out about Conan's crush.

Regardless, you are my escort to Osaka. Rei doesn't want me to go alone, but she can't accompany me.

I kind of agree with her. Six-year-old alone on a train heading cross country? I wouldn’t want to leave you alone either.

Conan felt his chest tighten again. He took a deep breath to loosen it up, then continued with his message.

I asked Hakase to stand in, but he said you would instead.

Aw, you don't want to travel with me? <:(

The original plan was to travel with you. Hakase was going to be a front while you and I went to Osaka. Rei just trusted him more than some stranger.

But he told her he'd send me, right? She’s okay with that?

He claimed you were his nephew. Family trumps unfamiliarity.

... I have questions, but I’m not sure I’ll like the answers.

Everything will be fine. Just come by the Totoro Detective Agency tomorrow.

Aye, aye, Captain!

Conan let out a sigh and exited the messenger app. Tomorrow would be one step closer to KID being gone.

He ignored the way his chest tightened again. It had been doing that too much lately. Maybe it was a side-effect from one of the antidote prototypes Haibara made. He would have to ask her sometime.

His night was restful and dreamless. He woke to his alarm and got dressed as quietly as possible while Totoro slept on. Rei made him a light breakfast and greeted Kaitou at the door. She hesitated at his face, looking so much like an older Conan, but she got her bearings and sent them off.

They were on a train heading out in the next half hour.


	12. Chapter 10

Two hours after getting on the train, Ghost-kun was leading us through the streets of Osaka. I had been here once or twice for heists and class trips, but Ghost-kun was born and bred here. It was obvious by the short-cuts he took to take us to our destination.

Which… was a giant shrine?

There, he eagerly ran up the steps and didn’t wait for us before running up to one of the caretakers. Tantei-kun and I just made it to the offering box when he returned with a girl by his side. She looked annoyed to be there. Judging by the broom in her hand, he had interrupted her work.

The broom and irate woman reminded me too much of my Blue Princess.

I took a subtle step back.

"This is my friend Tomoya Kuzama, Shrine Maiden and spiritual diviner," Ghost-kun said, laying a proud arm on her shoulders.

She elbowed him sharply in the gut. "Oi! Stop introducing me like that! I'm just a typical Miko! You’re blowing their expectations way out of proportions!"

"So you can't do magic?" I asked, forlorn. There went another lead down the drain. 

She scowled at Ghost-kun. "Just what have you been telling them?"

"Oi! Oi! I just told them the truth!" He held up his hands in defense. "I said you might be able the help with their problem! But that it was a heavy '_might_', no guarantee."

She still didn't look happy, but she turned back to us with a sigh. "What's your problem?"

"Long story short, I don't exist," I said without preamble.

She stared at me, then Ghost-kun and Tantei-kun, who had face-palmed. She reached out an experimental hand to poke at me. "You... look like you exist to me...?"

"Your story needs to be longer, Kaitou-nii-san." Tantei-kun sighed heavily.

"Kaitou here means that he's been erased from the memories of all his friends and family," Ghost-kun explained. "Any history he had, any news or videos he was in are gone. It’s like he never existed."

"Hakori-nii-san and I think he came from an alternate world!" Tantei-kun said, all bubbly and cute again. "So we want to get him back to his own world. But we don't know how, 'cause he forgot how he got here!"

"Alternate world, huh?" She shot Ghost-kun a disbelieving look.

"Kid's got a great imagination," Hakori deadpanned, then shrugged. "And honestly, I’ve seen weirder things."

Maybe it was Ghost-kun's nonchalant attitude or his reference to his _own_ powers, but it had Miko-chan frowning in thought before addressing Tantei-kun and me. "I'm not sure how much help I can be. I can’t use magic, like you asked before, but I see more than the average person. Usually, it's only a faint impression —a string between two people, a dark cloud over an ill patient, things like that. I’m not sure if I'll be able to give you any more information than you already know."

"Given we don’t know a lot, it's still worth a shot." I shrugged. "After all, you're the only other lead we've got."

Tantei-kun's nose wrinkled cutely. "Please stop breaking randomly into rhyme."

"Never."

"Okay, stay right where you are, Kaitou-san," she said. "Conan-kun, Hanaji, take a step back, so I don't get interference."

The two detectives obeyed as I slid my hands into my pockets.

She closed her eyes and pressed her hands together in prayer pose. Her shoulders drew up in a slow breath, then down as she exhaled through her lips. Then she opened her eyes...

And immediately squinted as if staring into the sun.

"Oh, ow. You’re bright. Brighter than I’ve ever seen. Why...?" she tilted her head. "The light bubbles? At your stomach and hips."

Stomach? Hips? ... Oh!

"Oi, Tantei-kun!" I dug out the gems I had on hand with me from my pockets. "Here! Hold these for a second!"

Tantei-kun took them with a look of consternation. "Should I be worried that you just pulled a whole bunch of priceless jewelry from your pockets?"

"Priceless _magic_ jewelry," I corrected, then shooed him back. "How am I looking now?"

"Much less bright." Her eyes bounced between me and Tantei-kun. "Still brighter than usual, but no longer blinding."

"Good." I put my hands on my hips. "So... anything else unusual?"

"Not from here," she said as she started as low circuit around me. She made it as far as my elbow before she stopped. "There’s a string here, just as bright as that jewelry you had on you."

"String?" I looked over my shoulder, as if I could see what she spoke of.

"It's attached to your back here." She brushed a hand between my shoulder blades. "Or potentially all of you, since you're still brighter than everyone else. It’s just concentrated here before it pulls off in a taut line."

"And it goes... where?" Tantei-kun asked.

"Straight out that way." She pointed behind me. I turned to look. "I think whatever you're searching for is that way."

"What's that way?" I asked the two resident detectives.

"Uh, all of Japan?" Ghost-kun answered unhelpfully.

"Tokyo," Tantei-kun said. "Most likely, anyway. It’s the only other place you've been. It makes sense that your way home be there."

"Ugh, but it's _huge_!" I let out a wavering groan. "How can we narrow it down?"

"Kuzama and I will join you!" Ghost-kun said, jabbing a thumb at his own chest. "She can point us in the right direction when we get closer."

"And why are _you_ coming along?" Tantei-kun groused.

"Because I’m not about to let her go off with you two alone." Hakori shot him a dark look. "I don't know Kaitou here. He could be a _criminal_ for all I know."

Ha! It’s funny ‘cause it's true. And Ghost-kun knew it.

"Let me talk to the other girls and see if I can't trade off shifts with someone," Miko-chan said. "And I need to let the elder know where I’m going."

"We'll wait," Ghost-kun affirmed as she ran off.

"Tantei-kun? Mind holding onto those for me a little longer?"

He gave me a dead-eyed look. "I should just keep these. Turn them into the police. It would serve you right."

"Whoa, wait, those are _stolen_?!" Ghost-kun blanched. _"Dude!_"

"I mean, technically they aren't," I said as Tantei-kun put them in his pockets for safe-keeping. "This world's copies are still in their glass cases, safe and sound."

"How do you _know_ that?" Ghost-kun frowned.

"Otherwise, the news would have reported them missing." I thought for a moment. "Or they just don't exist in the first place. That could be too."

"Just because _this_ world isn’t yours, doesn’t mean you don't have to pay for your crimes," Ghost-kun grumbled. He looked to Tantei-kun. "Are you sure we can't turn him in?"

"I tried that," I noted absently. "Turns out, if you don't exist, you don't have a criminal record. Police don't care enough to arrest you."

Ghost-kun scowled at me. "I hate you."

"You and Tantei-kun both!" I said cheerfully. I waved when I saw Miko-chan walking back. "Hakori-kun is escorting you to protect your virtue!"

Ghost-kun sputtered, face red as she laughed. "Yeah, he tends to do that often."

"So, back the way we came?" I looked around for the bullet train station.

"This way, Kaitou-nii-san!" Tantei-kun grabbed my hand and started tugging me along. I wondered quietly if he came to Osaka often. 

He certainly seemed to know his way around.

* * * * *

The seating arrangement happened by necessity.

"Hanaji, take Conan-kun to the other end of the cabin. He's too bright," Miko-chan said as she tugged me towards one side of the train car.

"_Hah_?!" Ghost-kun blanched. "But-! I was supposed to stick with you!"

"Except we can't leave Conan-kun alone and we can't have him near or I can't see," Miko-chan reasoned. "So you have to accompany him."

Ghost-kun grumbled, but Tantei-kun just rolled his eyes and dragged the teen after him by the sleeve. "It's not like we can't see them. Hakori-nii-san."

"But-! But-! But-!" Ghost-kun protested as he was unceremoniously dragged through the crowd. Then it was just me and Miko-chan.

We stood in silence for several minutes as the train pulled away from the station and set off down the tracks. She stared at me hard, no doubt trying to find the string tethered to me.

“It'll be a two hour trip," I told her. "You probably don't have to watch it the entire time."

"I'd rather be vigilant than not," she said, eyes sharp. "If I don't and it turns out that it switched directions partway through, we'll have wasted time that we didn't have to."

"Is that why we got the multiple stop train rather than the straight-through?"

She nodded.

We fell into silence again.

A question balanced on the tip of my tongue. Ever since my research into Kudou Shinichi and Edogawa Conan, I had a theory I wanted to either prove or dispel. She might not know the answer, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"Hey." I caught her attention. "You said you can see a lot of things around people. Can you also see curses?"

"I can." She nodded, eyes still on the invisible string. "Curses, barriers, dark possessions —I can see many things. Whether people believe me or not is another matter."

I hummed, questions still burning. 

"Why do you ask?"

"Do you know if Tantei-kun is cursed?" I asked.

She frowned at me. "Who?"

"Ah, sorry, Conan-kun I mean." I laughed. "I got used to calling him by the nickname I came up with. It's just a thing I do."

"Do I have a nickname?" she asked, intrigued.

"Miko-chan," I answered.

"What? That's so general!" She pouted.

"Sorry, but I don't know you too well." I shrugged. "I'll come up with a different one if we get along."

She huffed, but seemed to accept my answer. "And Hanaji?"

"Ghost-kun." I smiled brightly, but her face paled.

"He told you?" she asked, voice a whisper, almost indistinguishable in the crowd.

"Well, he kind of mistook me for one and the truth came spilling out." I gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sure he wouldn’t have otherwise."

"And you won't tell anyone?" she insisted.

"Not a soul," I agreed. "Living or dead."

"Good." She nodded. "As for your question, I haven't looked for it. I never suspected anything when I met with Rei-chan and Conan-kun before. I don't see any other tell-tale signs of a curse either. Why?"

"Tantei-kun is a very strange boy," I said. "He's far too smart and mature for his age, but more than that, I think he's hiding something."

I saw her frown, getting defensive and I quickly back-pedaled.

"None of that is bad!" I assured her, "But his cousin, Kudou Shinichi? He was the same, but he's disappeared. I’m worried it might be a curse on their family."

"Kudou-kun isn't gone," Miko-chan argued. "Hanaji talks about him all the time! They phone each other for cases too!"

"But have you ever seen him? Ever spoken to him?” I raised an eyebrow. "Hanaji doesn't just speak with the living, you know."

Her confidence wavered.

"You would know better than I, Miko-chan," I confided in her. "I just want to make sure nothing happens to Tantei-kun."

A war waged in her eyes before she consented. "I'll check. I can't now, because he has your bright items, but once he returns them, I can check and let you know."

"I would appreciate it." I smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

"But enough with the Miko-chan!" she argued. "I'm more than just my job!"

We fell into light discussion as she tried to convince me of a different nickname. The trip passed quickly like that. She paused at every stop to check the string and make sure we hadn't missed a change. We made it all the way to Tokyo before it shifted.

"We're closer," she said. "One more stop and we'll get out and search for a map."

"Sure." I looked over to Ghost-kun and Tantei-kun. Ghost-kun looked to be glaring at me, probably for being 'alone' with Miko-chan. Tantei-kun had, at some point, crawled up Ghost-kun's shoulders in order to see over the crowd.

I waved to Tantei-kun and pointed to the doors. He nodded and relayed the message to Ghost-kun. At the next stop, we pushed through the crowd and tumbled off the ride with others.

"I'll find us a map!" Miko-chan said as she took off for a service desk.

"What's she need a map for?" Ghost-kun asked.

"Probably to see the best route to follow the string without having to double back too often," Tantei-kun said. "That's what I would do anyway."

"Hmm... makes sense." Ghost-kun nodded. Then he turned on me. "So what were you two talking about? _Huh_?!"

"Chill out, Hanaji!" Miko-chan growled as she returned. "Kaitou-kun and I were just getting to know each other! It was a two hour ride! It’d be boring if all we did was stand there."

Ghost-kun muttered something like 'boring but safe' as she spread out her map for everyone to see.

It took a few minutes, before we settled on a route. Miko-chan had to check our position and the string’s direction a couple times before we were ready. Then it was Conan’s turn to play tour guide.

Mind racing, I fast-forwarded through the path, trying to figure out the final destination. This Tokyo wasn’t so different from my own, so if I was right…

Aw _man_. I feel so _stupid_!


	13. Chapter 11

"Ugh, I should have known!" KID complained. Silently, Conan agreed with him.

Kuzama had led them through the subway system, following the line only she could see. The journey was a little haphazard and required backtracking several times as their walk took them past their goal, but it got the job done. Finally, they stood before their destination — the Sonaki Hotel, the site of Jirono's newest exhibit.

In hindsight, it was obvious.

"You know this place?" Kuzama asked.

"I was here last week for the gala, a special guest if you will." KID started into the hotel, leading the group to the ballroom. Conan scoffed at his words. "Surprisingly, it was the same night I seemed to have been erased from existence."

"You were there?" Kuzama looked thoughtful. "I don't remember..."

"You wouldn't." KID grinned. "But I was invited by Jirono himself."

"More like he said you couldn’t get in," Conan muttered under his breath.

"Practically an invitation. A challenge for sure."

"He hired more guards than the police force has officers."

"And yet, I just couldn’t stay away."

"Wait, you _broke in_?!" Kuzama looked between the two, disbelief evident on her face.

"More like crashed the party." KID shrugged as he led them into the exhibit room. "Jirono hates it when he gets upstaged."

"Hanaji..." Kuzama pulled him to a stop far from Conan and the thief. Her eyes fluttered around the room, nervous. "Doesn't Kaitou-kun seem... suspicious to you?"

"Suspicious?" Hakori asked. Conan could see his sweat from where he stood. "How so?"

"Well, he's talking about breaking into a Sonaki gala." Kuzama glared at KID's back.

"Crashing! As in there to mingle and have fun! Not actually breaking in! Celebrities do it all the time, you know."

"But he doesn’t look like any celebrity I know."

"Because all memories of him were wiped, remember?"

"He also emptied and entire handful of expensive jewelry form his pockets when we first met." Her eyes hardened. "You don't think that's a little suspicious?"

"Family heirlooms."

"Hanaji! Put those with his 'breaking in' comments and-!"

"Kuzama." Hakori put his hands on her shoulders. "Do you trust me?"

"H-Hanaji?"

"Do you?"

She frowned. "Of course I do!"

"Do you think I would ever help a criminal when I could turn him in to the nearest police station instead?"

She looked away.

"Do you?"

"No," she finally answered with an explosive sigh. "I don't. But what if you don't _know_? I don't want you to be an accessory!"

"I know he seems suspicious, but my gut is telling me to help him." Hakori's gaze softened. "So just... trust me on this, yeah?"

She looked between them multiple times before her shoulders drooped. "Okay."

"Are you two done with your not-so-quiet conversation?" KID asked. "If so, I’d really like to move on."

Hakori and Kuzama startled at his words, but rejoined the group, faces red.

"The string is leading in that direction." Kuzama pointed. Her eyes narrowed when KID did not look surprised. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"I had a strong suspicion." KID meandered closer until he stood in front of one exhibit in particular —the _Looking Glass Quartz_. "The night I vanished from people's memories, I held this particular beauty."

"Held?" Kuzama repeated. "Jirono allowed you to do that?"

"Allow is such a strong word," Conan grumbled to himself.

"I am something of an appraiser." KID circled the exhibit pedestal and its glass case, but did not cross the rope. The man had some sense then. "Jirono wanted to verify its authenticity before it joined the exhibit."

"And he had you do that?" Hakori asked. "He must trust you."

"But then why did he not want you at the party?" Kuzama's brow furrowed. 

"Like I said, he hates to be upstaged." KID showed her an empty palm, then closed it. With a flick of his fingers, a rose appeared. She gasped in delight. "I am something of a magician. I know far more party tricks than this. Jirono doesn’t like me at his parties as then I am all people talk about."

_Well..._ Conan thought. _He's not wrong._

It just was not his party tricks that people talked about.

Kuzama accepted the rose as Hakori looked on with a sour face.

KID turned back to the case. "Though if this gem is the reason for my predicament, I am not sure how to proceed. I would ask Jirono for a private showing, but he surely does not recognize me."

"The string is tied to you and this stone," Kuzama confirmed, twirling the flower in hand. "That I know for sure. How that helps you, I do not know. I don't see how a stone can be the reason for the situation you find yourself in."

"Ah, how so, indeed." KID stared hard at the _Looking Glass Quartz_ before he turned away. "Let's go. We’ve stayed long enough. Any longer and the guards will get antsy."

"Guards?" Kuzama asked, but Conan saw them. They were in informal clothes, posing as tourists, but he knew. They had circled the room twice now, eyes on the group. To common people, they looked to be enjoying the exhibits, but Conan knew what to look for.

Evidently, KID did too.

"Come on then." KID turned and led them from the room. Hakori and Kuzama fell behind to whisper to each other. Conan kept pace with KID. "Oi, Tantei-kun. The metal detector is coming up. I’ll be needing my treasure back."

“I walked in with them, you know,” Conan protested.

“Yes, but we didn’t walk through the detectors then, did we?” KID pointed out. “It’s only the exit that is guarded with detectors.”

“Horribly inefficient system if you ask me,” Conan quipped as he fished out his pockets. "What, don't want security pulling it off me?"

"I figured you wouldn't like something like that on your permanent record." KID grinned.

"That just means they'll put it on yours instead." Conan handed over the jewels.

"Not if they don't know I have them." KID's grin turned secretive as he put the jewels in his pockets. Conan wanted to ask what he meant, but Kuzama interrupted him with a gasp.

"Conan has a string too!" Her eyes widened as her gaze followed some unseen thing back the way they'd come. "To the same exhibit! But... how?"

"I didn't touch anything!" Conan claimed as childishly as he could, but he knew why. KID was not an appraiser and Conan was no ordinary child. If KID touching the _Looking Glass_ _Quartz _created a string, then it would make sense for Conan to have a string as well since it had ended up in his hands at the end of the heist. However, handling the gem also caused KID to switch universes, but Conan did not.

What was different between them? What made the gem choose one over the other?

Conan did not know, but he would find out. It may be the key to getting KID back to his own universe.

Loathe as he was to admit it, KID may have a better idea where this world-switching magic gem was concerned.

* * * * *

The two of them saw Hakori and Tomoya to the train station. On the way there, Tomoya asked to see one of the magic jewels KID had on him. He handed over the lapel pin that had allowed him to levitate before. She examined it, eyes squinting against an unseen light.

"It's strange," she commented. "This one is a lot brighter than the one in the Sonaki exhibit. I wonder why that is?"

"I assume ones with more and varied powers would be brighter," KID said as he accepted it back. “This one sees much use while the other most likely doesn't.”

"You gonna be okay?" Hakori asked.

Conan shrugged. "We got a lead, so it's a start. Whatever happens from here on will be on us."

"Well, good luck." Hakori saluted. "Call us if you need anything."

Conan nodded and turned to KID, only to see Tomoya pulling away from him. Her face pulled back from his bended ear, as if she had just finished telling him a secret. Interesting...

"So, Tomoya, huh?" Conan commented. Hakori's growling cut off immediately. Conan shot him a sly look. "Now who's the lovesick child?"

"You are," Hakori said petulantly. "I've got a sixteen year old body."

"With the mind of a six-year-old."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, sorry. You're right. You aren't a lovesick child."

"Thank you."

Conan's grin widened teasingly. "You're more like a lovesick puppy.

"Oi! Oi!"

"Hanaji!" Tomoya skipped over, eyes bright. "Ready to go?"

Hakori sent Conan a final glare before turning his gaze to the train and nodding. "Yeah. It’s already past lunch. We might as well get something on our way."

"Just don't walk into any corpses on the way," Conan warned. "Tokyo is my turf."

"Oi, if they come calling, I can't _not_ answer." Hakori scowled. Conan scowled back.

"Conan-kun is a strange child," Tomoya commented as she looked between the two. Conan felt a stab of fear as he realized he had dropped his act.

In the next second, he was startled by two hands lifting him into the air. "That's because he's Tantei-kun! Very smart and mature for his age!"

Conan squirmed where KID held him as Tomoya laughed. "I suppose that's what makes him and Hanaji such good friends?"

"Was that a compliment to Tantei-kun's maturity or an insult to Ghost-kun’s?"

"I am feeling very attacked right now!"

After a few more friendly insults traded back and forth, the two Osakans boarded the train, deciding to find a place to eat on the way back. Conan and KID waved them off at the platform until the train was out of sight.

"You can put me down now." Conan squirmed in KID's arms.

KID hummed in consideration before he lifted Conan over his head and plopped him on his shoulders. Conan squawked, one part surprised, one part embarrassed. He knew this was a typical position for people to put children in, especially small ones easily lost in crowds. He knew children regularly asked to sit on shoulders so they could see the world. He had even sat on Hakori's shoulders not an hour before.

But Hakori knew. He knew Conan was no child. He knew Conan had a greater awareness of his body than children did. With him, there was an understanding that Conan would not ask unless necessary.

KID was not like that.

He chose to do this because he thought Conan was a child and nothing more.

The thought had Conan squirming to get off, but KID grabbed his ankles to keep him still. "Careful! You'll fall off, you know!"

"Down!" Conan demanded. "I want down!"

"Weird. Usually kids like being up high," KID commented.

Conan knew this fact well, but it didn't matter. "I don't!"

"Are you scared of heights?" 

"No, I just like walking."

"We've been walking or standing for the past four hours. Take a break why don't you?"

Conan kicked his heel into KID's shoulder. "_KID. Put me down right n-!"_

"Besides, with you up here, I can talk to you a lot better." KID interrupted calmly. His voice was quiet, barely audible over the ambient noise. "I won't need to talk very loud for you to hear. And no one can eavesdrop on us as we plan what to do next."

Conan stiffened and his complaints died on his tongue. KID was right. This position was advantageous to communication without drawing a lot of attention. He still _did not_ _like_ _it_, but he would put up with it for now.

He would just keep his hips situated further away from KID's neck.

"So, the culprit is the gem that I targeted last weekend," KID noted.

"How can a rock be a culprit?" Conan retorted. He reached down to hold onto KID's collar. It felt weird to hold onto his hair.

"How can a rock allow me to fly?" KID returned. "It's magic, Tantei-kun."

Conan scoffed. "But it's magic from your world. My world doesn’t have magic."

"Doesn’t it?" KID turned his head slightly to eye Conan.

"Not that kind," Conan amended, thinking of Hakori and Tomoya. "We've never had anyone with magical gems before and no random disappearances or appearances like you."

"Are you sure?" KID turned forward again. "Doesn't your world have the occasional missing persons?"

"Runaways or homicide victims," Conan said, but he knew KID's next question. And his confidence had already been shaken by Hakori's very existence. "Probably."

"Regardless, even if the _Looking Glass Quartz_ did not have powers in your world, I am not sure they are one and the same," KID said. "I had it in my hands during the heist and I handed it off to you."

"And I handed it to the head Inspector after that," Conan relayed.

"If the one I had was from my world and the act of giving it to you made it shift worlds..."

"Then the normal one of my world either got pushed out or merged with it," Conan deducted. "So whatever powers yours had, this world’s copy now has."

"My theory at least." KID nodded.

"Does that mean touching it again will transport you back to your world?" Conan asked.

"It's worth a try if nothing else, but I'm not sure how to go about it." KID huffed a sigh. "Jirono won't let me within 50 yards of it as myself. As some stranger? He’d have no reason to agree to a private showing with some nobody."

"But he couldn't say no to a somebody, right?" Conan frowned as he thought. "Or rather, two very important somebodies?"

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that my... cousin's mother and father are a famous pair —an author and actress. If I ask nicely, maybe they can talk with Sonaki-jii-san and get a private showing."

"And if their son and cousin happen to want to join?" Conan could hear the sly grin in KID's voice even without seeing his face.

"Don't disguise as Shinichi-nii-san," Conan warned. "Sonaki-jii-san will tell Shizuka-nee-chan and she'll tell Rei-nee-chan."

"And that would be very bad." KID let out another disgruntled breath.

"Just go as my older brother." Conan shrugged. "Nobody will know any better." 

"You have an older brother?" 

"No, but you and I look alike enough to pass for it."

"Hmmm... It'll do for now," KID acquiesced.

"So what do we do if just touching it doesn’t work?" Conan asked.

"We'll find another plan." KID shrugged, lifting Conan with his shoulders. "But we've narrowed it down to that stone, though. Miko-chan said that the string was tied to it."

_To it and to me. _Conan thought to himself, but what did that mean?

And did he want to know?


	14. Chapter 12

I dropped Tantei-kun off at the Totoro Detective Agency after our little walking chat. He said he would try to get in touch with his cousin’s parents, but that they may not respond immediately. I had gathered as much from the journals they had left in the library about their various trips. They seemed to be quite free spirited for a couple who had a high-school aged son. And one that did not join them on their trips.

How did the boy live? How did he take care of himself? Did he have to raise himself?

It sounded like a terrible way to parent, but then again, my own mother wasn’t much better. Her life of crime saw to that.

Though the trip to Osaka and back took up Saturday, I found myself with little to do on Sunday and no matter how much I badgered Tantei-kun, he wouldn't come by to visit. Said it would make Rei-nee-chan too suspicious. 

Personally, I thought he just didn't want to see me, which hurt if I was being honest.

So Sunday ended and with it the weekend. I found myself with yet another week to pass by until Tantei-kun could spare time to come and keep me company. Normally, I'd take free time like this to craft new and improved tricks, but all of my gear was back in my own universe and the house I was staying in didn't look like it would survive an experimental fire or two.

Instead, I thought of what we were aiming to do next.

Miko-chan helped in pointing me in the right directions, but getting the gem would be on me. Our visit to the museum told me that my mirror mechanisms were gone —as if they were never there in the first place. This meant I’d need to commission new ones, but without Jii-chan and his secret network, I was at a loss.

The Professor next door was an inventor, but his contraptions tended to catch fire more often than not. As much as I needed the technical help, I also valued my life. I’d just have to make do.

Tantei-kun said he'd try to get in touch with his cousin’s parents. Famous as they were, they could reasonably ask Jirono for a private showing without raising suspicion like I would. I wasn't sure about adding more people who knew of my situation, but it was either this, or steal the gem on my own.

That was still Plan B.

So the main quest was at a stand-still until the next event, but the side quest I had started had some new information. Miko-chan had kept her word. She had 'looked' at Tantei-kun when I took my magic gems back. It was then that she saw the string that connected him to the _Looking Glass Quartz_ as well, but it was also when she saw something else.

She had held off telling me until we were at the train station, out of hearing distance of Ghost-kun and Tantei-kun. She had tugged at me insistently until I bent enough for her to whisper in my ear.

"_Conan-kun's aura is larger than himself. It's as tall as Hanaji at least!_" she had said. _"I don't know what this means. Most people have an aura just a bit bigger than their physical bodies, but Conan-kun's is so much larger..."_

She determined there was no curse. The aura was natural as far as she could tell, not the work of any spirit possession or mal-intent. He wouldn't be burdened by it, but neither would he benefit. It was strange and she had no explanation for the phenomenon.

But I did. 

I had a theory and the pieces were starting to fall into place. I wanted to ask him, but I wondered just how he would react. If I was wrong, he would no doubt laugh. But if I was right, would he even tell me? I understood the need for secrecy, have lived a secret double life myself. But if he thought my knowing was too much?

Well... there wasn't a person in this world who _could_ miss me.

Shaking my head to clear such thoughts, I pushed myself off the couch in order to do something, _anything_. Just laying around doing nothing was letting my morose thoughts run wild. This wouldn't do if I wanted to find a way back home.

The first thing that came to mind was examining this house again. Yes, I had lived here for the last week and knew it frontwards and backwards, but still, something itched at my mind.

There was something weird with this house.

I had been here long enough to make a mental map of the place and the blueprints my mind drew up... were wrong. There was a space missing on both the second and first floors. The mental blueprints for the floors were directly on top of each other and, put together, made for a sizable amount of square footage missing.

But every door was present. There was no way into the missing room.

Or... was there?

I found myself in front of the bookcases in the library, specifically the ones adjacent to the missing room. I had thought they looked like the type to hide a secret door, perhaps I hadn't been so far off the mark?

I tried to be as systematic as possible. Start at the bottom and work my way up. A book on the bottom shelf didn’t make sense because a person would have to bend down every time... on the other hand, that made it the perfect book. Out of direct eyesight, less likely to be picked off the shelf and more likely to be chosen for a secret entrance key.

None of the books on the bottom shelf _were_ the 'key', but my point still stands!

Methodically, I worked my way up the shelves until I hit the top, hanging off the rolling ladder secured to the bookshelves.

Nothing... maybe it was a second story entrance?

I found the 'key' on the second floor, above my head, but not ladder height. The book was Arsene Lupin —the only thief book in a bookcase of detective novels. I should have known.

When I pulled it, a 'click' sounded, alerting me to my success. The bookcase swung open, displaying a set of stairs and a dark space inside. I grinned wildly and got my phone out to text Tantei-kun.

_ What would you say if I told you I maybe have broken into your cousin's parents' sex dungeon? _

I laughed to myself as I walked onto the landing of the stairs. The lights didn't turn on immediately, so I searched for a light switch around the edges of the entrance. My fingers found it in the near dark and flipped it. The lights didn't come on immediately, not to full brightness. Instead, they emitted a soft glow that slowly intensified as my eyes adjusted. Honestly, it was a good process, all things considered. I might have to add the feature to the KID cave when I got back home.

Because I would get back home.

From where I stood, a cat-walk stretched out before me, leading to a loft that took up half the floor space of the second story. The rest was left to open air, with large objects reaching up from the ground to interrupt the space. A couple hang gliders were suspended mid-flight in the open space, looking as capable as my own glider. Across the way, there looked to be a study area with more books and shelves and a desk piled high with rolls of paper.

Hmm... Interesting.

Before I could take another step into the room, my phone rang shrilly. The name said Tantei-kun.

I answered it with a grin. "Hello?"

_"What the hell was with that text?"_

"Sorry, sorry, I just wanted to hear your reaction." I laughed as I started down the stairs. "I'm bored. You can't really blame me."

"_Well, I have a class to get back to. I can't be your entertainment during the day. So you'll have to find something else other than texting me inane and traumatizing texts!"_

"Oh, don't worry. I have," I said as I made it to the ground floor. The hanging gliders were interesting, but the ground floor held even _more_ interesting things. There was an entire car in here!

How did they get it inside? More importantly, how did they get it _out_?

"_... I'm almost afraid to ask."_ His tone sounded very disconcerted.

“Don’t be alarmed." I laughed as I ran a hand over the hood of the car. "But I low-key turned your house into a temporary KID Cave.”

Technically, not a lie. I was definitely taking this space for myself. I'm not sure what its purpose was or why someone felt the need to put it in the middle of the house, but I was claiming it now.

_“What do you mean by low-key?”_

Although, that did pose a good question. What _was_ all this stuff doing in here? A car, a couple motorcycles, a couple different work benches set up like I had in the KID cave. It looked something like a secret agent's lair...

_“Am I going to come home to a secret entrance behind a bookshelf in the library that opens to a basement filled with KID paraphernalia?”_

It wouldn't be KID's, for sure. KID's theme was all white and blue. Everything here was a nice midnight-blue, nearly black. The hang gliders would blend in brilliantly with the night sky where mine always stood out. It made sense if one were a robber, but weren't the Kudous fairly well off? Why did they need these things in here?

_"Dammit, KID!”_

“In my defense," I interrupted him before he could get too far ahead of himself. "The secret entrance was already there. I'm just claiming it for now.”

_"Secret entrance? There's no such thing in my house."_

"Second floor in the library," I noted as I turned to some of the gadgets. There were a lot of typical ones —grappling hook, glass breaker, laser alarm mist. More than enough to resupply my suit. "I noticed that, for the floor plans of the place, there's a lot of square footage just _missing. _So, I got bored and went looking."

There was a long pause form Tantei-kun, most likely, he was trying to think of any inconsistencies he had missed.

_"... Shit, you're right. There is space missing."_

"It's easy to pass it by." I itched to handle some of the equipment, but turned back towards the stairs again. "I only noticed because I've been living here twenty-four-seven."

_"Yeah, right. Familiarity and all that." _He still sounded really put out.

"What I'm wondering is, why is this here at all?" I asked as I climbed the stairs to return to the desk. "Does your cousin's parents have some sort of underground empire that I should know about?"

_"Not... that I'm aware of."_ He didn't sound sure. _"But, then again, it sounds like something they would do for fun."_

Yeah, his parents were the free-spirited sort, from what I'd gathered.

"Isn't his father an author?" I was pretty sure I remembered hearing that. "What does he write about?"

_"Mysteries and crime scenes mostly, but his newest series is the Night Baron,_" Tantei-kun replied. "_The whole series should be in the library somewhere if you want to read it."_

"I may have to," I said as I looked over the papers lining the desk. One roll had been stretched out and flattened, showing a building's blueprints. It looked like the Sonaki Hotel.

_"What are you thinking?"_

"Maybe that he uses this room as something like a visual aid for his writing." I shrugged and stepped away. "It wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've heard of authors doing."

_"That... that makes a lot of sense, come to think of it."_ Tantei-kun sighed. _"And if his series matches up with the room, that would probably be the case."_

"Probably," I agreed as I left. I turned off the lights and closed the door behind me. "Anyway, sorry about bothering you. I'll go take a look at his books."

_"Don't be. Something like that... I'd like to know._" He sounded grumpy, but that was probably because he hadn't figured it out himself. "_If we're done here...?"_

"Go back to class, Tantei-kun." I smiled as I searched the shelves for the _Night Baron_ Series. "I'll entertain myself here."

_"Good. I'll see you later."_

I made a noise of confirmation, then he hung up. I looked at the 'call ended' screen until it when dark. Then I pressed the top of the phone to my lips. 

_Secret entrance? There's no such thing in my house._

"My house." Not his cousin's house. Not Shinichi-nii-san's house. "_My_ house."

And well, that about said it all, didn't it? It proved my theory without my having to say a thing. Case closed, side quest completed.

The new question was: What did I _do_ with this information? What _could_ I do with it?

Frowning to myself, I tugged a book from the start of the _Night Baron_ series and headed for the couch on the ground floor. I would let the information settle first, then decide what it was I did with it. After all, it was better to be cautious where secret identities were involved.

I would know that best of all.


	15. Chapter 13

Conan ended the call, but did not immediately put his phone away. He stared at the black screen, wondering. How he had missed such a big secret in his own house? He had lived there for _years_ but never even _realized, _never thought to _check_.

And why had his parents never _told_ him?

He could kind of get his father. His dad liked to make Conan work for his deductions and answers. He enjoyed the journey just as much as Conan did.

But his mother?

The woman who sent her husband letters saying she was running away because he had (supposedly) cheated on her?

The woman who won best actress for 10 years running— despite the fact she had only been an actress for the first three?

The woman who _could not even keep his birthday gift a secret?_

Surely _she_ would have said something over the years. Some word or turn of phrase to push Conan in the right direction?

Unless… she did not know?

No, that was not right. His father could not keep a secret from her. Not without her jumping to the worst conclusions. So she had to know, but then why…?

It was lunch time, which would then be followed by recess. He had time now. He could make a call...

But would his parents pick up? He knew they did not like to be disturbed during their vacations. More importantly, if they thought he was one of his father’s editors, they would actively _avoid_ the phone. He should probably call his mother’s phone in that case…

And he really needed to ask them about the showing. He could wait until after school, but…

_In my defense, the secret entrance was already there._

He would call them.

If they did not pick up, then he would put his phone away, head back into class and try again later in the day. Wait, how late could he go? What was their current time zone? Was he calling them in the middle of the night-?

_"Hello?"_

Conan startled when he heard his father's voice. He had dialed his mother's phone, so why...? Never mind. Not important. "Did I wake you?"

_"No, it's only eight here. But it should be the middle of a school day there. Is something wrong?"_

"I'm calling during recess," Conan stated. "So I'm not skipping class or anything.

_“Oh good. I know you've passed the grade already, but your mother would have hated to drop by for a truancy conference."_

"Would she?" Conan doubted that.

_"I... think? Maybe. She doesn't like it when you get in trouble, but she does enjoy dressing as Mrs. Edogawa."_ His father sounded mystified. Conan felt the same. _"But I think having to cut our vacation short would be the worst for her."_

Conan should not feel bad. He rarely asked them for anything, knowing how much their vacations meant to them, but this was something he could not let go. "She may have to deal with it."

_"Why is that?_"

"We found a lead," Conan said. He leaned against the wall and checked his surroundings. This conversation was not made for younger ears. "The person staying in our house? He and I found something that could help him get back to where he belongs."

_"Oh? I wasn't aware he was trying to go anywhere."_

Conan pressed his lips together. He had not told his parents the whole story the first time when he asked permission for Kaitou to stay. Of course, his father would be curious about the case Conan was working on, especially if Conan found a lead.

He cursed lowly under his breath, ignoring his father's instinctive warning of '_Language_'.

"It's not really something I can explain over the phone,” Conan said. "Can it wait until you come home? I need you and Mom to call Sonaki Jirono to get a private showing of his exhibit. The sooner, the better."

_"Well, we can probably make it at the end of the month? My editors are really hounding me about my book-?"_

"Speaking of books." Conan's eyes narrowed as he looked into the distance. "My guest found something very interesting in the library."

A long pause followed.

_"Was it, uh... was it a book?_

"No."

Another long pause. His father was terrible at lying. 

_"What, uh... what was it?"_

"I think you know," Conan said, his voice like ice. "The question is, does Mom know? Who am I kidding? She's probably been in on it since the beginning."

_"Son, whatever you think it is, it’s probably not as bad as in your head!"_ his father defended.

"So it's not a hidden room within our house?" Conan nearly bit his cheek with the sharp comment. "One that is inaccessible save for a secret entrance in the library like some kind of clichéd villain in a cheap novel?"

_"Hey!"_

"And to think I've bene living there for years, my entire _life_ and I never noticed anything!" Conan pulled at his hair with the strain in his voice. "Never! Not once! I’ve read pretty much every book in that library! Up and down every shelf, around every corner of the house!"

_"Well... obviously not every book."_

"Quiet!" Conan growled.

_"Look, are you angrier about the fact that your mother and I never told you? Or that you never noticed on your own?"_

It stung that his father was such a good detective that he did not need to see Conan's face to read his thoughts.

"Why do you need one?" Conan asked instead. He did not need to answer his father's question. His father already knew the answer.

"_... Have you looked inside?"_

"No, I just heard about it from my guest," Conan said. "He had thought it might be some kind of method writing you do in order to finish your books?"

_"Method writing? Yes! Method writing! That’s what-!"_

"But we both know that's not it." Conan bared his teeth at the phone. "You have to be chased down by editors in order to finish books. They force you to write them wherever they find you. On the beaches of France, restaurants in Prague, in the _actual airport_ —doesn't matter where, you can write just fine. You haven't been home for more than a week in the last six years."

_"... Has it really been that long?"_ his father sounded pained.

"I'm not complaining," Conan said, softer. That old anger had already died out. "But don't try to talk your way out of this. We both know that room isn't used for writing. I want to know what it _is_ used for."

A third long pause. Perhaps he was sharing a look with his mother. When he spoke again, his voice was all business. "_We'll be home this weekend. We’ll speak with Jirono-san before then and try to work out a good time for a private showing. Make sure your guest knows we'll be coming by."_

"I will," Conan said as he heard the bell ring. "Oh, and Rei got suspicious about a person living in the house. We managed to throw her off, but now she thinks you two were headed to Greece for the next month. You may need to come up with a good excuse. Well… Mom should anyway.”

_“Hey, I can lie! I can craft so many good cover-ups!”_

“In your stories maybe. In real life, if it came between telling a good lie and dying, you would die.” Conan ignored the affronted noise his father made. “Anyway, I’ll see you this weekend.”

He hung up just as the Shounen Tantei-dan found him.

“Conan!” Ayumi waved as she ran up. “Recess is over!”

“Who were you talking to?” Mitsuhiko asked, curious as ever.

“Shinichi-nii-san’s parents,” Conan replied. He was careful to keep the betrayal off his face. The kids were too perceptive sometimes. “They’ll be coming by this weekend and they wanted to see me.”

“So they called you during school?” Genta looked weirded out.

“Ah, I think they forgot about the time difference between where they are and here.” Conan laughed nervously.

“They’re real airheads, aren’t they?” Genta said dismissively. Conan held back on his immediate reaction to defend them. After all, they were Shinichi-nii’s parents, not Conan’s.

“Anyway, we need to go back inside now.” Ayumi pulled at his hand. “Next is art class!”

“Right.” Conan agreed weakly and let himself be dragged after the trio. He spent the rest of the day thinking about the two conversation he had.

Just what had the thief found in that room?

Just what were his parents hiding from him for all these years?

And most importantly, did he want to know?

He did not have an answer for any of those questions.

* * * * *

Makanori Aohime had a weird two weeks. All of last week, she had made an extra helping of breakfast and set a third place-setting at her and her father's table for two. Her father had not said anything, but she could tell he was mad at her. His attitude had been terrible the entire week she made extra.

Food never went to waste. She always packed it for her lunch or his, so that could not be the issue, but she knew it had to be connected to her somehow. Over the weekend, she worked hard to break herself of this random habit and finally managed by Monday morning.

Her father's mood improved and his success at work went up and their food bill stayed the same. She was so happy! She waited a few days more to make sure the habit was broken, then raced in Thursday morning, eager to tell... who?

Who had she wanted to tell?

Not the girls. They would make fun of her airheadedness.

Not Hakuga. She was still looking to impress him with her skills.

Not Aka-? Aka... aka...

"Morning, Makanori-chan," Hakuga greeted. "Something on your mind?"

She realized she had stopped at the empty desk beside him. She stared at it hard before looking to him, befuddled. "I was going to tell someone something."

"Who?" Hakuga inquired, curious.

She looked back to the desk. "I forgot."

Hakuga watched her for a few more minutes before suggesting. "Maybe you'll remember later?"

"Maybe." She shrugged and went to her seat. She wondered who it was she wanted to tell her accomplishment to and why she could not seem to remember.

Then class started and it slipped from her mind.

* * * * *

Rei received the call from Conan's 'aunt'. "Hello, Kudou-san! How is Greece?"

Conan carefully kept his eyes on the children's show on TV, if only to make it seem like he was not listening in on every word.

"That sounds so exciting!" Rei gushed after an appropriate time. "So what are you planning to do next?"

Here, Rei's face changed. Conan saw it in a small reflection in the window.

"But weren't you just here last week?" Rei asked, the frown evident in her voice. "It seems strange to stop over here and leave, only to return a week later?"

A long pause. Conan could almost hear his mother on the other end, spinning some plausible lie.

"I guess that makes sense," Rei said, more to herself. "I didn't realize it was that soon."

_That soon?_ Conan frowned. What was soon? Was it an important event? Was it his parents' anniversary? ... Was it his birthday?

"Okay, I'll see if he wants to." Rei covered the receiver of the phone with her palm. "Conan-kun! Shinichi's parents are coming into town this weekend. They want to know if you want to join them this weekend! They’re going to check out the Sonaki exhibit Shizuka's uncle put together."

"Didn't we already see it?" Conan asked, not wanting to sound too eager. "And there's going to be so many people..."

"They said they're going to do a private showing," Rei explained. 

"So I can see the exhibits up close?" Conan made a show of perking up. "Un! I wanna go! I wanna go!"

"Okay! Okay! I'll let them know!" Rei turned back to the phone. "He would love to go."

Conan turned back around. His plan was working out perfectly-!

“Do I want to come?” Rei repeated.

Conan froze. Having Rei come along would not be _bad_, but it did throw a wrench in his plans. The thief was going to go as Conan’s brother, but Rei already knew him as Hakase’s nephew. Rei would be admitted even if it were a family event, because of her ties to Shinichi and Shizuka. Kaitou on the other hand…

“Aw, I’m sorry, but I’m going out with Shizuka that weekend.” Rei truly sounded sorry. “She wanted to try out this restaurant in Kyoto and they’re having a special this weekend, so…”

Conan heard laughter from the phone and something in a reassuring tone. Rei brightened and laughed along, relieved. “Thank you for the understanding. I’ll make sure he’s ready Saturday morning!”

Conan focused on the TV again. The momentary change in plans had his heart racing. It still sounded louder than necessary in his ears.

No doubt his mother did it on purpose. She liked to mess with him like that.

Subtly, he pulled his phone from his pocket and shot her a text.

_ Really? Do you *want* me to have a heart attack? _

_ It would be weird if I didn’t invite her along. We always do, but if we didn’t this time, it would stand out. You wouldn’t want her to get suspicious, right? _

He did not because he had no idea how he would explain this situation to her. He still did not know how he would tell _his parents_.

_ Besides, it would also hurt her feelings! You have to think of a girl’s feelings, Shin-chan! Or you’ll become heartless like your father! _

Conan scowled.

_ For the last time, he’s never cheated on you. _

_ But would you tell me if he did? I swear you detectives have a secret code or something to keep you from disclosing each other’s secrets! _

_ But we also live for justice, so I would be morally compelled to tell you. _

_ Hmm… true… all right. I’ll believe you for now. But I’m watching! _

_ Always. _

Conan sighed fondly and flipped his messenger app to a different conversation.

_ Hey, my cousin’s parents are coming home this weekend. _

_ Am I getting kicked out? :’( _

_ No, but I wanted to let you know. They’re coming to ask Jirono for a private showing. I think they want to meet you and know the full story. _

_ How much did you tell them? _

_ Not much. Only that you found yourself in a dire situation and needed a place to stay. _

_ Isn’t that enough? _

_ My uncle is a detective in addition to being an author. He wants to know why we need access to an exhibit full of expensive gems in order to get you home. _

_ Dang, are you just a family of detectives? I swear, the density of detectives in this world is far higher than the one in my world. _

_ My aunt is an actress. _

_ This Youtube video of her deduction sure begs to differ.[link] _

_ My cousin fed her the answers. _

_ Shows how much you can trust the internet. _

_ Enough. Don’t try to change the subject. I need to tell them in order to get their help. What am I allowed to explain? _

Conan knew it was risky, leaving it up to the thief. KID might decide to go with a lie or the bare minimum amount. It was his right to. Conan was not the one trapped in a world on his own. Conan might be able to talk around the issue with his parents, but he did not hold high hopes. If KID wanted, though…

_ All of it. _


	16. Chapter 14

I will admit: I was nervous.

Not the kind of nervous that came before a large performance or right before a heist. Not the kind of nervous that came before a big test or Sport's day events. No, this nervousness came from being unprepared.

Tantei-kun's parents would be here any minute and I didn't have my names picked out for them!

"Just call them Kudou-san and Kudou-chan," Tantei-kun said with a flat look.

He was absolutely no help.

"I don't see why it's a big deal." He threw his hands up and collapsed onto the couch. "They're just people! You don't need nicknames for everyone, you know."

"Says you!" I returned, affronted. "Nicknames are a thing of art! I can't just say the first thing that comes to mind!"

"You call me 'Tantei-kun'. That’s literally the first thing I said to you other than my name." He looked slightly put out. Maybe I should change his name. But I really liked Tantei-kun. It was so cute!

"And you have yet to prove to be anything but a detective." I shrugged and looked back to my name list. I had so many ideas, but no way to know which would fit until I met the owners of the house.

Yes, a list might have been too much, but it was either this or explore the secret room in the library, but Tantei-kun had told me to stay out of it until his parents —sorry, his _cousin's_ parents got here. So I had to find other means of entertainment.

It just so happened that lists were easy to make and paper easy to come by.

But my time quickly came to an end when I heard a key enter the lock on the front door and the knob jostle open. I steeled myself and hurried to the front door, Tantei-kun in tow. Now was the moment of truth.

When his parents arrived, it was with much fanfare.

Each had three to four bags on their arms and around their necks and trailing behind them. Each bag was a varying shade of pink save for one that was a standard black roll-case. The husband looked to be struggling, but the wife seemed to skip right into the house.

"Ah! Home sweet home!" She dropped her stuff on the coffee table and turned to survey the place. "It looks cleaner than usual. Has Rei-chan come by recently?"

"Yeah," Tantei-kun said, a little grumpy. Strange, I thought he'd be happy to see them.

"Did you help her?"

_"Yes_."

"Good boy!"

Oh, that's why.

"Now, would you like to introduce us to your guest?" she asked, bending over to talk at his eye level.

Tantei-kun rolled his eyes, but gestured to me. "This here is-?"

"You can call me Kaitou." I beamed and held out a hand to the husband. "You're an author, right Sensei?"

"Among other things." The man smiled calmly.

"And Orchid-san here is an actress?" I turned to her.

"Orchid-san?" she repeated.

Tantei-kun scoffed. "He's got it in his head that he needs to call everyone by nicknames, even people he's just met."

"Oh?" Orchid sounded amused. "And what's yours?"

"... Tantei-kun." 

"What?" Sensei asked. "Why is he Tantei-kun, but I'm Sensei? I'm a detective too!"

"To be fair," I shrugged. "He introduced himself as a detective."

Sensei grumbled at my reasoning and walked further in to deposit his bags. I turned to Orchid-san and bowed deeply before offering her a fist. She looked confused, right up until I flicked my thumb and —_pop!_— a flower sprouted from my hand. "It's an honor to meet the mother of such a smart boy. You did a good job raising him."

I felt Tantei-kun stiffen at my side.

She smiled as she plucked the flower form my hand and brought it to her nose. "It wasn't all me. If it were, he'd have been a phenomenal actor, but his father just _had_ to go introduce him to Holmes. Then it was all he could talk about, right Shinichi?"

She looked at Tantei-kun. I followed her gaze to find Tantei-kun staring at me in horror, face pale. "You... _when_?"

"When you called after my text. You called this place your house." I shrugged. "But I had suspicions after finding those photo albums."

Orchid looked between the two of us. "What? Shin-chan, did I miss something?"

"Shinichi had not told his guest of his identity," Sensei said as he walked back into the room. His eyes were hard as steel as he stared at me. "Isn't that right, Kaitou?"

"Sorry, but yeah." I gave her an apologetic smile. "I used you to confirm my suspicions. It was a dirty trick. Sorry about that."

"I feel so betrayed!" she cried out dramatically and flung herself at his husband. "And to think I was charmed by you!"

"I promise I won't tell anyone." I shrugged half-heartedly, then turned my eyes to Tantei-kun. "Got no one to tell, really. Though I'm sure the story behind your predicament would be an interesting one."

"As much as yours, I would think," Sensei said, voice still hard, but the steely edge was gone. "Not many people would make the connection. I would be intrigued by your thought process in figuring it out."

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours?" I suggested with a cheeky grin.

Tantei-kun's face had regained its color, but he still looked highly uncomfortable. He looked to his father, but the man remained impassive. The decision was entirely Tantei-kun's.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before picking his way through the luggage to the study. "Might as well get everything out in the open now."

His parents and I followed to the library. He took a seat on one of the chairs while I took the other. His father sat at the desk while his mother sat _on_ it, both looking on in interest.

“How much do you know?” he asked.

“You were Kudou Shinichi, second year high school student, athlete, violinist, and most importantly, _detective_,” I rattled off. “But as of last April, ‘Kudou Shinichi’ disappeared and ‘Edogawa Conan’ came into existence. A child with no medical history, no education records, and no birth certificate.”

Tantei-kun winced, but nodded.

“As for how you became like this…” I shrugged. “I asked Miko-chan, but you aren’t cursed. That’s about the extent of my reasoning.”

“A curse?” Sensei asked, but Tantei-kun didn’t allow him enough time to make a statement.

“I became like this because I put my nose where it didn’t belong,” Tantei-kun said harshly, glaring at his knees. “I was poisoned by two men in black. Instead of dying, I became like this —a one in a million chance, I hear. I’ve been searching for them ever since.”

“Searching for men who were trying to kill you? Sounds dangerous, especially with your disadvantage.” I frowned. I know I sounded hypocritical, but our situations were different. _I_ could at least look over the counters without needing a stool.

“It is, especially if they recognize who I am, but I don’t have a choice.” His frown tightened. “I need a sample of the poison so that my friend can make an antidote and I can get my body back.”

“You have a friend in the pharmaceutical industry?” I couldn’t help the disbelief in my voice. This kid really got around. Or, not-kid?

“She’s the one that created the poison in the first place,” Tantei-kun explained. “The men in black decided they no longer needed her, so they tried to kill her. She thought she’d take her own life first with her poison. Turns out, she’s one in a million too.”

“Your friend… Onee-chan?” I guessed, thinking of the young girl who lived next door with her ‘grandfather’. The missing ‘grandmother’ made a lot of sense now. “No wonder she’s so smart. You asked her about the alternate universe, right?”

“For what help it gave us.” He nodded. “Your turn.”

“Well, you know part of my history, but I suppose I should reiterate for your parents’ sake.” I looked over to the two at the desk. “In my world, I am a thief who targets magical artifacts —gems usually. Magic is known more openly, though few people are able to harness such abilities. Gems are good for inducing certain effects, such as defying physics itself.”

I held up my flight pin —the _Shiroba Pin_ —and heard Sensei gasp as I began to levitate off my chair. Orchid gasped in excitement at the novelty I displayed.

“I told you that there are men who want to steal these gems and will stop at nothing to get them until every stone falls into their grasp. Whether it be stealing them or killing the owners, they will not hesitate in any deed. As I do not have the funds to obtain these stones on my own, I’ve taken to stealing them in order to keep the innocent safe.” I looked to Tantei-kun. “I told you all this before, but there is more to my story.”

His eyebrows knit together as I let the magic go and landed back in my chair.

“My father also took on this role, long before I ever donned the suit.” I looked down at the lapel pin in my hands, not wanting to see the looks of pity I was sure to receive. It had happened every time I explained my past to people who knew the real me. “He thwarted them at every turn, same as I do now. They grew angry at his antics and decided to put an end to him… _permanently_.”

I heard a gasp, but I knew not from who.

“It was passed off as an accident. As a magician, he pulled some very dangerous stunts. It made sense that, one time, he wouldn’t get so lucky.” I stared at the pin in my palm, then curled my fingers around it. “I only learned a year or two ago, what a lie that ‘accident’ was.”

“And so you set to follow in his footsteps,” Tantei-kun guessed, voice absent of pity. I had to look up, surprised. His gaze was harsh, but in a determined way that said he would have done the same had he been in my place.

It was nice to have a confirmation that what I had decided was _right_. So many times, I’d had to wonder. So many times, I had thought to give it up, but I knew I could not. With Tantei-kun’s righteous anger, I knew I made the right choice.

“Yeah,” I said quietly, a small admission, before I sucked in a breath and leaned back dramatically. “It makes keeping up with homework _so much harder_ though!”

“Really? _That’s_ what you’re going to complain about?” Tantei-kun scowled at me. “Not the fact that you have to live a hidden life of crime in order to avenge your father? It’s the _homework_ that gets to you?”

“Hey, homework is tedious on its own!” I frowned, then brightened as I looked over to his parents. “Speaking of ‘hidden’ though, isn’t there something you two would like to tell us?”

Orchid-san squirmed on the desk, looking between us and her husband. Sensei stared hard at me before closing his eyes and bowing his head. “In truth, our story is a lot like yours, Kaitou-kun.”

Like mine?

“You lost your father too?” I asked.

“Ah, no. The… _other_ part.” Sensei fumbled a bit. “A few years ago, I uncovered several missing persons’ cases that seemed to tie together in the strangest ways. The way bodies were found, _where_ they were found, where people were last seen…I quickly put together that searching out the causes of these incidents would put my family in danger, but I couldn’t just leave this all behind. _Someone_ had to make these wrongs _right_ and I couldn’t trust anyone but myself.”

“Well, and me,” Orchid said as she leaned over to him. “I have quite a few skills that came in handy over the years. Without me, he would have died for sure.”

“Yes, Honey,” Sensei said indulgently. “So the two of us decided to play up my author role and take trips around the world. It just so happened that these trips landed me in places where I could pick up more clues without being too obvious about what I was searching for. I also ran into others searching for similar information and have made quite a few friends in the business of secrets.”

“But if all you’re doing is looking for information, why do you have that secret room?” Tantei-kun asked, knowing how to get straight to the point.

“That room was first a safe room for my findings, but then it became a sort of getaway room. Weapons, tools, vehicles —anything that could aid in escape if we were ever found out. It was also to be a legacy for you, should anything… _happen_ to us.” Sensei bowed his head. “You… weren’t supposed to find it so early.”

“Wait a minute,” Tantei-kun sprang to his feet. “You’re telling me that you’ve been traveling the globe, looking for serial killers, and leaving me in the dark, only to set up a _secret lair_ that I would somehow _stumble onto_ when the time was right?! Whose idea was this?!”

“Well, I admit, it _was_ your mother’s plan…”

“Hey!”

“But I also went along with it, so…” Sensei looked rightfully embarrassed.

Tantei-kun let out a disgusted scoff. “I can’t deal with you right now. I’m going home.”

“But, Shin-chan… you are home?”

“I am going to _Rei’s_ home,” Tantei-kun corrected. “I’ll be back in the morning. Kaitou’s using my room, so there isn’t a place for me anyway.”

His mother looked like she wanted to argue further, but Sensei shook his head. She glowered instead.

“Want me to walk you home?” I asked, already standing.

“Will you actually let me go alone if I say no?” he grumbled.

“Probably not.” I shrugged. “It’s dark out there and you’ve already had one tragedy happen to you. Best not to tempt fate.”

He grumbled again, but allowed my company. The walk over was quiet. No doubt Tantei-kun was still thinking about his parents, his father’s plan, his mother’s eccentricities.

Me on the other hand?

I couldn’t help but think of how similar our stories really were…

And how close he had been to becoming me.


	17. Chapter 15

By the time Saturday rolled around, Conan was still dealing with the information his parents had unloaded the night before.

Just how was he supposed to handle the fact that they had lied to him? For _years_? That his father was risking his _life_ to take down some criminal organization and that his mother was _helping_?

And they expected him to be understanding of them? Understanding of the fact that they had been practically _no-shows_ for the past six years because they wanted to, in some backwards way, _protect him_?

Only for him to end up ankles deep in their mess anyway!

Conan did not have any proof, but he had high suspicions about _which_ organization his father was tracking. It explained why his parents had not only believed him when he first shrunk, but they actively _helped him_ keep his identity secret. Even Hakase has been wary of Conan when he first changed, not wanting to trust a small child. His father, Kudou Yatsuki, should have been even more leery.

But he was not.

Because he had run into so many other cases that had convinced him of the impossible.

Conan was thankful. There was no doubt about it. But he wished they had _told_ him, so he could be prepared, in the event of…

In the event _of_.

Conan could not help but notice just how close he had been to becoming like KID. Not just ‘had been’. Conan still had a very high chance of becoming orphaned at a young age, should either of his parents miss-step and be found out. Conan did not know anything about KID’s mother, but for as well as he seemed to take care of himself in a house alone, Conan could draw some conclusions.

The big difference between him and KID, though, was that KID had an advantage. He had age on his side and luck. By the sounds of it, he had been playing the field for two years now, long enough to draw attention, but still be able to get away. Conan did not know how he did it, but he knew he did not want to find out.

Conan was not that lucky. His situation spoke for itself.

Although, it could be much, much worse. After all, his parents were still alive.

And so he came right back around to the beginning, with the betrayal stinging at his spine as Rei opened the door at a knock. “Coming!”

“Rei-chan!” His mother gushed as Rei opened the door. The older woman threw herself at Rei, acting like a high schooler instead of a woman twice that age. “It’s so good to see you again!”

“It’s always good to see you too!” Rei smiled brightly and hugged her back, used to such over-exaggerated greetings. “I was worried something was wrong when I didn’t see you back last week.”

“Oh, we were just in for a quick visit. Had to switch out some clothes for our trip. No point in wool sweaters on the beach you know!” His mother patted her shoulder comfortingly before walking into the house, his father trailing behind. “I am sorry that we missed you, but the flight was so early that we couldn’t really spare the time.”

“It’s fine,” Rei said, closing the door behind them. “After all, you’re back now!”

“Only for a few days,” his mother said mournfully. “And of course, our son can’t be bothered to meet up with us.”

_Oi, oi!_ Conan scowled. _I’m right here!_

“Dear…” His father admonished quietly, but he could not help but bend to her whim. Conan severely hoped he never ended up like that.

“But no time to lose!” His mother clapped her hands. “Jirono can fit us in at 10:30 for a brief showing before lunch. I want to go see his collection while we still have the chance!”

“Calm down, dear, the exhibit isn’t going anywhere.” His father soothed with a hand on her shoulder. “We still have time to stop somewhere for coffee, right?”

Conan scoffed. His father was just as much of a caffeine addict as he was. Well, more than now. Rei did not let him have more coffee than he could sneak, so he was slowly but surely overcoming his addiction. He was not happy about it, but he had no other choice.

“Of course, sweetie.” She patted his cheek, then bent over to scoop Conan up. “We’ll be off now, Rei-chan! Have fun with Shizuka-chan!”

“I will!” Rei promised as she waved them off. Conan began to squirm before they had even made it down the stairs.

“I can walk!” he protested as he pushed at his mom’s arms. Being carried like a child was embarrassing. “Put me down!”

“Just hold on ‘til we get to the car, okay?” She did not wait for an answer, just continued her strut to the car idling on the side of the road before the agency. Through the windows, he could see KID grinning at him cheekily.

Conan scowled.

Finally, his mother put him down in front of the car and opened the door for him. He quickly crawled in before she could get any ideas about ‘helping’ him and studiously ignored the thief as he buckled himself in.

“Don’t say a word,” Conan growled.

“Wasn’t going to.” The thief laughed.

They stopped for coffee and sweet rolls in lieu of breakfast, then continued on to the Sonaki hotel. Just like the weekend before, there were many people milling about, but the exhibit was blissfully free. A single velvet rope sectioned it off from the rest of the hotel.

His father spoke to the receptionist. “Hello, we’re here to see Sonaki Jirono-san?”

“Ah, you are the private showing at 10:30, correct?” the receptionist asked. She rifled through her papers. “Kudou-san?”

“That’s us.” His father smiled amiably.

“I’ll let him know you’re here,” she said, reaching for a phone.

While she spoke away from them, Conan tugged on Kaitou’s pants. The taller teen crouched to hear him. “You have a plan, right? To touch the stone?”

“I have a few tricks up my sleeves,” the thief confided. He ruffled Conan’s hair, making the other boy sputter. “Don’t worry, there’s always Plan B.”

“Plan B?” Conan repeated. “What’s Plan B?”

The thief smiled and stood. Conan tugged on his belt and whispered harshly, “KID, what’s Plan B-?!”

“Ah, Kudou-sensei!” Jirono greeted as he came down the stairs “And the lovely Fujimiko, beautiful as ever.”

“It’s Kudou now, Sonaki-san.” Conan’s mother draped herself over his father’s shoulders. “Has been for a while now.”

“Indeed. You’ll have to forgive me though. In the world of acting and theater, you have been immortalized as Fujimiko, the sweetheart of the big-screen.” Jirono laughed good-naturedly.

His mother laughed and blushed at the compliments.

“I hear that you wanted a private viewing of my exhibit?” Jirono addressed Conan’s father with that.

“Yes, if you don’t mind.” Yatsuki put a hand over his wife’s “We missed the opening night and my wife really wanted to see the exhibit before we left on our next trip.”

“Of course, busy lives and all that.” Jirono’s eyes fell to Conan. “Is the boy coming with us?”

“He and his older brother, my nephews,” his mother said by way of introduction. “If you don’t mind. The oldest is really excited for a chance to see many of the displays up close.”

“Did he not get a chance yet?” Jirono asked.

“The room is always very crowded when I come by,” Kaitou explained sheepishly. “It’s hard to appreciate the exhibits when people are constantly pushing me away.”

_Or chasing_. Conan thought, remembering the clips he had seen of previous heists two weeks ago. Yes, KID quite liked his game of cat and mouse.

“A man with an eye for finery. I can relate.” Jirono nodded and turned to lead them. “You two may join, but don’t go putting your sticky fingers on anything, boy.”

It took a second for Conan to realize Jirono was not talking to the thief. That warning had been for Conan.

“I assure you, Co-chan knows to be on his best behavior.” His mother turned to him. “Isn’t that right, Conan-kun?”

“Yes,” he drawled obediently.

“Conan?” Jirono’s brow furrowed, like he was trying to remember something. “Edogawa Conan? The boy my niece talks about on occasion?”

“Shizuka-nee-chan?” Conan clarified.

“Yes, that’s the one.” Jirono frowned. “Strange. I thought you’d be taller.”

Conan refrained from firing a soccer ball at him. Barely.

KID laughed and ruffled Conan’s hair again. “He’s going through his growth period. That’s all!”

Conan pushed him off and meticulously fixed his hair as Jirono unhooked the velvet chain. “Even if you are a friend of Shizuka-chan, my warning still stands.”

“Yes,” Conan agreed as he walked in behind his mother. KID stuck close behind him. It seemed like he was hiding, almost as if he thought Jirono would suddenly recognize him with proximity. Conan snorted silently at the thought.

The group wandered slowly from display to display. Jirono only needed to be prompted once before he regaled to them the story of how he acquired each and every trophy in the room.

He began with a long tale of his favorite author and how his life had been changed by the books he had read. Then he went on to how making and growing his collection would be a monument to the great author of the past. Yatsuki spoke with him at length of the literary techniques Carroll had used and the maturity of the material despite being children’s books.

In short, Conan became bored within the first five minutes. He did a good job of not showing it though. His mother would be proud.

KID, on the other hand, looked to be enjoying himself, though Conan knew not whether that was true. His poker face bested Conan’s any day, he had learned.

Finally, the group made it to one gem in particular, the _Looking Glass Quartz_. It was here that Kaitou finally spoke up.

“This is a quartz, is it not?” Kaitou let out a low whistle. “Its clarity is out of this world. It almost looks like a diamond with how crystal clear it is. Aren’t quartzes cloudy?”

“Most are, yes, due to the chemical make-up and their crystalline structure.” Jirono nodded. “This one in particular is special thought. It grew in a place where very few contaminants could reach, giving it that clear surface and the name _Looking Glass Quartz_.”

“Isn’t a looking glass a mirror though?” Conan asked, voice pitch to childish curiosity.

“Hmm… you’re quite bright, boy.” Jirono shot Conan an impressed look. “However, in the book _The Looking Glass and what Alice Found there_, the mirror is more than just that. The mirror is a portal to another world. This gem has a similar effect.”

“Haaa?” Conan frowned, confused.

“I don’t know…” Kaitou paced around the display, looking at the circular pendant from every angle. “It just seems like a normal Quartz to me.”

“Here…” Jirono dug a set of keys out of his pocket. He pressed it into a slot on the side of the pedestal, but did not turn it. Instead, a panel slid open at waist level to reveal a key-pad. Jirono quickly dialed in a combination, then turned the key when the device beeped. The glass case over the gem lifted up with a hiss.

_That’s new_. Conan thought to himself. He had seen the _Looking Glass Quartz_ on the day of the heist. It had not been under this much security before. In fact, he was pretty sure the _Queen’s Heart_ had been switched with the quartz.

“See here,” Jirono said as he carefully plucked the pendant from its place. “Though this is clear as a bell, try looking through it.”

Conan hesitated to hold the stone. It was not an unreasonable response. After all, this was the gem that he and KID suspected to have led to the thief’s dimension crossing. If their theory was correct, and KID had no counterpart here, then Conan with no counterpart _there_ was liable to…

“It’s okay. You won’t break it,” KID said as he crouched to Conan’s level. He gently took the gem from Jirono’s hand to hold it for Conan. “See? It’s fine.”

“Smart boy, being cautious with something so priceless,” Jirono said gruffly. “Go on. Take a look.”

Conan stubbornly clasped his hands together, but his curiosity won out. He leaned forward, looking through the quartz as if looking through a spy glass, but… he saw himself?

A hand appeared over his image’s shoulder. Conan startled and whipped around —but there was no one there?

Jirono laughed at him and wiggled his fingers from where he held his hand on the other side of the gem. “The internal fractures cannot be seen, but the effects are quite amusing. Looking one way, you see yourself in the face. Yet, if someone were to place their hand here, it would appear as if their hand were behind you.”

“Like it’s an alternate world,” Conan said. He blinked and looked up. “Like the one from Carroll’s book!”

“Exactly, my boy.” Jirono laughed again, exuberant. “See now, why it is such a fitting name?”

“Yeah,” Conan agreed, impressed despite himself. KID took a moment to look at the gem and experiment with the refraction effects. Yukine and Yatsuki also took a moment to admire the gem before Jirono retrieved it and placed it back in its case.

They continued with the tour, but Conan fell behind with KID. He was trying to figure out how to speak with the man without being heard by the others, when strong hands lifted him up and onto a familiar set of shoulders.

“K-KI—!”

“Shhh, Tantei-kun.” KID grinned brightly. “I know you are no child, but it looked like you had something to say.”

Conan scowled deeply, then buried his hands in the other’s collar. He bent low, face nearly in the other’s hair, but he did not have to talk as loud. “So what do you think? Is that the one?”

“I sensed a very faint aura of magic,” KID admitted. “Far less than I would expect, but more than I sensed last week. I think it may be getting stronger.”

“Is that possible?” Conan frowned. “Do magic stones do that?”

“Depending on how they work, they can.” KID frowned. “Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s strong enough to get me home. Not yet.”

Conan furrowed his brow. “I’m not sure I have any more connections that can get us back here later. I might be able to talk to Shizuka, but that’s a big _if_ and that’s not including her suspicion of you. We may have to come up with another plan…”

KID hummed in agreement, then stopped when they caught up with the others. The way the adults were standing and talking, it seemed as if the tour had ended.

“I have to admit, your collection is quite impressive, Sonaki-san!” Yukine gushed. “So many interesting pieces. I’m so glad we got to see them!”

“And just in time too,” Jirono commented. “At the end of the month, I’m closing down this exhibit.”

Conan sucked in a breath and felt KID tense below him. The grip on his ankles tightened unconsciously.

“Really?” Yukine looked disappointed. “Whatever for? It really is rather beautiful. To only have a month to enjoy it…”

“I don’t feel the need to keep it secluded to one spot, so it will be a traveling exposé of sorts.” Jirono grinned broadly, as if he weren’t announcing a looming deadline to the two teens. “Next month, it will hit Kyoto, then it’s over to America and further abroad. Really, you caught it at the best time!”

“No doubt about that!” Yatsuki laughed. “Even with how much we travel, I’m not sure we could keep up!”

“I told you we had to see it!” Yukine prodded his shoulder pointedly. “I saw that front page newspaper and told you we had to come back! Aren’t you glad you listened to me?”

“Yes, honey.”

“KID…” Conan whispered, tension in his chest.

“I know,” Kaitou responded, voice void of emotion. “Plan B it is then.”


	18. Chapter 16

I had a big dilemma on my hands. After the news over the weekend, I had a very serious decision to make. One that could change the course of my life as I knew it.

Should I change Tantei-kun’s nickname?

After all, my suspicions were confirmed this past weekend. Kudou Shinichi is Edogawa Conan and vice versa. The problem is that I’d already given them each a different nickname: Tantei-kun and Meitantei.

If they were one and the same, that begged the question: which should I use?

Obviously, Tantei-kun was Kudou Shinichi, a great detective and smart beyond his years, both physical and mental. It would do him a great disservice to call him anything but ‘Meitantei’.

On the other hand, Tantei-kun was just too cute: he needed a cute name to go with his façade. ‘Meitantei’ was too mature for that.

“Why don’t you just call him both?” Orchid suggested. Finally, someone was being helpful for once! Or attempting to, anyway.

“Mmm… but that will get too confusing!” I groaned as I slumped on the couch. “Two nicknames for one person? My naming scheme would be completely thrown off!”

“Then just keep them as they are. Co-chan is Tantei-kun. Shin-chan is Meitantei.” Orchid put one hand on her hip. “After all, Ai-chan _is_ working on an antidote. One day, Co-chan will be Shin-chan again. Then, it won’t matter, will it?”

“No, it won’t.” Was the answer really that easy? I pondered the suggestion and decided _yes_. That was what I would do.

Tantei-kun for Tantei-kun and Meitantei for Meitantei. Yosh!

Okay, one dilemma down. On to the next one!

“Oh, by the way.” I turned to where the two were repacking their luggage. “Do you mind if I use your secret lair while I’m here?”

“I don’t mind,” Sensei said. “So long as you don’t do anything illegal in there.”

I smiled. “Nothing like that. Just mixing some chemicals. I’m a magician and I like to put on shows for kids every now and then. I didn’t want to go mixing my stuff in your kitchen though, just in case I messed up.”

“In that case, please do use the room.” Sensei pressed. “It has its own sprinkler and ventilation system.”

And second dilemma down. Sweet! I’m on a roll today!

“Oh yeah, speaking of magic tricks.” Orchid put a finger to her chin and tilted her head in thought. “That trick, with the rose? Where did you learn it from? It’s very familiar.”

My heart gave a hard thump. “Ah, I learned it from my father years ago. Where he learned it, I have no idea.”

“Father? Mmm…” Orchid thought a little longer before she snapped her fingers. “I remember! Toushi-sensei!”

At the name, I flinched. I had gone to see one of his shows. Though his name had changed, it was obvious to me who he was, but… “Sensei?”

“Yes! Toushi-sensei is the one that taught me how to do my disguises!” Orchid clapped her hands. “That’s why the trick was so familiar! He always greeted me with a flower when we met for lessons. Made my honey so jealous!”

Sensei scowled, but it looked more like a pout. On a full-grown man, it looked a little ridiculous. “So your father learned how to do that trick from Bokuro Toushi?”

A smile stretched itself across my teeth of its own accord. “I don’t know where he learned it, though I suppose it is within the realm of possibility.”

Sensei frowned at my word choice, but Orchid was zipping up the last of the luggage with a huffed, “Done!”

Drawn from his thoughts, Sensei went over and let himself be loaded up like a pack mule. Orchid donned more bags herself before they turned to me.

“We’re off!” she said brightly. “Tell Shin-chan that we’re sorry we couldn’t wait for him to finish school, but we got the first flight out.”

“It’s not safe to stay in one place for too long,” Sensei said seriously. “We’ll call him when we land though.”

“I’ll let him know,” I promised.

“And Kaitou-kun?” Orchid turned beseeching eyes to me. “Take care of him while you’re here, okay? He’s head-strong and too smart for his own good, so he needs all the help he can get. So… watch over him for me?”

I felt myself soften at the obvious love she had for her son. “I will do my best while I’m still in this world.”

“That’s all we can ask for.” Sensei nodded seriously. A horn honked outside, startling all of us. “That’s our ride, honey.”

“And that’s our cue!” Orchid waved as they pushed out the door. “Bye, Kaitou-kun! It was nice meeting you!”

I waved until they were bundled into the cab. Then they were gone.

I closed the front door and just stood for a few seconds, breathing. The house was quiet after the two days of company. Deadly quiet, like the aftermath of a coastal storm. How did Tantei-kun deal with it? For _years_ on end? I knew I was in a similar situation, but even my own mother stopped in every two weeks or Skyped me from where she could. It didn’t seem like Tantei-kun’s family did.

It was a little heartbreaking.

Shaking myself, I tempered my resolve. Tantei-kun’s life was his own. I had no hand in it past getting myself home. I would work with him and keep him safe in the meantime, but I had no right to lecture him or his parents. Especially not in such a dangerous set of circumstances.

So thinking, I hurried back to the library and its secret room. I would need to do inventory to see what I had at my disposal. A few toys I recognized, but some others, I’d have to practice with. I would also need to figure out how to get the motorcycle out of the secret lair. I remembered my various recipes for sleeping gas and smoke-bombs, but I would need to acquire the correct supplies —and I had to work fast.

I had less than two weeks to steal the _Looking Glass Quartz_ before it began its world tour, putting it firmly out of my reach.

So, I had a heist to prepare for and no big tricks up my sleeves.

It was times like this that I missed Jii-chan the most.

* * * * *

It took days of careful planning to pull off my recon run. Even the day of, I was nearly outted by Tantei-kun’s inopportune text. He wanted to meet up, but that just wasn’t on the schedule tonight. Whatever he wanted to talk about, it would have to wait until the next day.

Phone off and night fully settled, I put my plan into action.

A couple sleeping pills in the night guard’s coffee allowed me access to the security room and the system itself. I left the cameras running on a loop, but turned off the alarms and motion sensors.

It was lucky that the place my target lay in was a hotel and not a museum. The security was far more lax, even at night. As a precaution, I checked the breaker room in order to put a power sapper on the generator just in case, but… found one there? Strangely enough, it was the exact same model I’d used during my first heist. It even had KID’s logo on it.

I frowned deeply at it before switching it out and pocketing it. I would have to look at it later, when I had time. Now, I had some sneaking to do.

Leaving the breakroom in a guard’s disguise was easy. It was even easier to make my way through the hotel without arousing any suspicion. There must have been some event planned for the weekend because housekeeping was crawling the hallways, cleaning every speck they could while the guests were asleep. With the added foot traffic, I was able to disappear into the background.

Down in the ballroom, I slipped past the velvet rope and paused to the side of the doorway long enough to let my eyes adjust before I slowly crept across the room. No flashlights, just in case of ground unit guards I couldn’t predict.

The route from previous planning and trick setup had engraved itself in my mind, so I could make my way around the displays without touching any of the randomly placed pedestals. I had noticed a few had been placed differently when touring with the Kudous, but my mind automatically made changes to my mental map.

There would be no getting caught for this thief.

Finally, I stopped in front of my target for the night, the familiar circle-cut quartz. It gave off the faintest of gleams in the low light from the doorway. The magic was building, almost as if it were begging me to reach out and take it. And I would… but not tonight.

Tonight was recon and finding every piece I needed for success.

I remembered the lock that Jirono had opened before. I remembered the code he had foolishly typed up in front of me and the key itself he had on his person. If I could open the lock without it, that would be best, but I wasn’t sure it was possible. That was why tonight’s mission was so pertinent. If I made a mistake on the real heist, KID would be no more.

For the sake of my father’s legacy, I couldn’t let that happen.

So I knelt and drew a small pen-light, just big enough to light the keyhole and see the mechanisms inside.

It looked simple enough. The grooves were similar to how other keys worked and, had it only been that, picking the lock would take less than 15 seconds. Unfortunately, the body of the key was a cylinder, lending itself to the small pressure plate at the back of the hole. One had to press the key in and hold it in order to trigger the key pad, then keep pressure to turn it and unlock the glass case.

It was quite obvious that Jirono wanted no one stealing this gem.

I didn’t remember any contraptions like this the first time I stole it. There hadn’t even been a case at the time. But if I remembered correctly, the Queen’s Heart, the one everyone _thought_ I would steal had been locked in a glass case on a similar pedestal. It now sat bunched with a few other jewels in another display, no longer the center of attention.

The two had obviously been switched.

It didn’t matter, really. This just meant that I had to swipe the key off Jirono before the heist began. That would be an easy job for my sneaky fingers. I just had to get close enough to him without raising suspicion. Since I had met him with the Kudous, I already had a good talking point with him. Then it would just be a matter of getting past the guards that would surely swarm the floors.

Mind already planning, I went to stand —only to have my shoe drag against something on the floor. Strange… I thought the floor had been clear? Had someone dropped something during the day? If so, house-keeping must have missed it. Perhaps I should return it to the front desk before I left…

I ran my fingers against the floor, only to pause. This seam... my mirrors? But I’d checked only two weeks ago. They were gone then. How...?

I got to my feet quickly and carefully made my way around the room, because if my mirrors were back, then maybe the rest of my supplies had also returned? It was an impossibility, but then again, my mirrors reappearing was also an impossibility, along with the power sapper that hung heavy in my pocket.

The rest of my trick setup had returned. The recesses where I’d hidden my smoke machines once again held the devices, though they were emptied of solution. I’d need to refill them, but that wouldn't be hard at all. I had the formulae of all my chemical agents memorized for years now and a secret lair to mix up the concoction in. It was already a given.

What I wanted to know was: how was my trick still set up from my previous heist, when it wasn't there the last time I checked? Did someone else put them up? Was someone else planning to steal a gem from the Carroll collection?

But, that didn’t explain the KID logo on the power sapper.

The mirrors, the smoke, the power sapper on the breaker box to cut the lights, everything was in place, exactly as I left it. I was sure my remote even worked to trigger the mirror maze, still on the same frequency that I’d left it on.

This was far too strange for coincidence and far too dangerous as far as magic went. This was something else _entirely_.

I’d have to tell Tantei-kun about this.


	19. Chapter 17

Conan knew his parents had left without a goodbye before KID ever sent him the text. He knew it was what they did, what they would keep on doing. He knew now it was, in part, to keep him safe.

It still stung that they could not even wait for him to finish the school day before they left. Again.

He did not get the chance to speak with the thief that Monday and when Tuesday came around, the house was empty when he and Rei came by to visit. Conan searched the whole house, but KID was nowhere to be found.

It drove a spike through his ribs.

KID had nowhere else to _go_. Even if he cleared the house for Rei’s presence, he could not have gotten far. Just where had he…?

Conan stopped in front of the library, the weekend’s revelations fresh in his mind. KID had not told Conan the name or location of the book that opened the entrance, but Conan had a large suspicion that was where the thief had hidden. A text later that night confirmed it.

_ Went to the house today. Didn’t see you. You go out? _

_ Nah, I was in the KID Cave. _

_ We’re not calling it that. _

_ I am KID and this is my cave. It is the KID Cave. _

_ It’s not even yours. _

_ Better than your dad’s name for it. _

_ What does he call it? _

_ Baron Base. _

Conan scoffed. He knew where his father came up with it, but calling it the _Baron Base_ after his _Night Baron_ series was just stroking his own ego. He would have to remember this blackmail for later.

_ What are you even doing in there? _

_ Plan B. _

The vague answer made Conan frown.

_ What is Plan B? _

_ ;) _

_ That does not help my trust in you. _

_ Don’t worry about it, Tantei-kun! Everything is fiiiine~!  _ _ J _

_ KID, you better not be doing anything illegal in there! _

_ Chill out! I promised your father, no illegal business in the secret room. _

There was a loophole somewhere there. Conan could feel it.

_ You shouldn’t be doing *anything* illegal in this world. _

_ Technically, you can’t do illegal things if you don’t exist. _

_ Technically, you’re wrong. Breaking the law is breaking the law, whether you have a birth certificate or not. _

_ I’m not *breaking* the law, just… checking it’s flexibility. _

_ You’re not helping your case. _

Conan scowled at his phone and switched apps before he broke down and called the thief to rant. He closed a few games he had forgotten about, three separate searches he had needed for cases a while ago. (Speaking of, it had been a while since he had run into a case…)

Searches he had run on KID. His thumb hovered over the exit button before deciding they really were not worth keeping around. He went to close it and accidentally selected the app instead, but paused before he could back out.

The screen was refreshing.

He frowned down at it. Yes, his phone automatically refreshed if he had not visited a site in a while, but with the KID searches, they had immediately redirected to Error 404: Page not found.

Now, though, they timed out.

“Server is taking too long to reply,” Conan read. It was still a technical ‘error’ in finding the pages, but it was different. It suggested that there were pages _to be found_ in the first place.

What was going on here?

He promised himself he would monitor the tabs and tell Haibara if they continued to act strangely.

Then he got pulled into another heated debate with KID and forgot about them.

* * * * *

Makanori felt strange.

He had been in a bad mood the entire week after Jirono's gala. It felt like he had failed yet again, but could not for the life of him, figure out why.

He had been invited to the Sonaki opening night by a personal letter and even got to speak with Jirono himself. Sonaki Jirono was not a celebrity Makanori usually followed, but his stories had been quite invigorating. The man had been to just about every country and had a riveting tale to go with each trip. Inevitably, the story ended with some trophy or another from his harrowing feats.

Perhaps that was where Makanori’s feeling of failure came from? From hearing the adventurous tales of a man twice his age? Compared to Jirono, Makanori had not had a single worth-while accomplishment in his life. Yes, he became an inspector at a young age, but any person worth their weight could become an inspector and thrive. Was he missing the adventures Jirono spoke of? Was Makanori having a mid-life crisis?

Whatever it was, it had bothered him the entire week after. He knew his daughter had picked up on it, as she walked a little more cautiously around the house and he hated that he made her worry. It was not her fault at all, but he did not know how to make her see that when even _he_ did not know its origins.

The following week and a half, he was fine. His mood had improved, not great, but normal as far as things went. He had succeeded in capturing the masterminds of several fraud cases, had been congratulated by his boss and was generally doing well, now that things had settled down. He had thought the brief sour mood had passed

So what was this new feeling welling in his chest? This feeling of anticipation, of looking forward to the weekend?

He enjoyed the days off like every working man did, but something had him on the edge of his seat. Every time he saw the little full moon symbol on his desk calendar, his heart gave a little thump. He had even taken to going through Division Two's mail in the morning.

Makanori was glad none of his men had questioned him. He was not sure he could give them an answer to his behavior if he tried. Instead, he tried to pass everything off as normal, even as his mind started a small countdown of its own accord.

* * * * *

Conan checked his phone often after he first encountered the strange behavior of his search engine. Error 404 never showed up again. Instead, the connection always timed out. He wanted to talk to KID about this, but the thief had been suspiciously quiet over the past few days. Conan had no idea what Plan B was, but it was taking all of the thief’s time.

He just hoped it did not paint Conan as an accessory.

Haibara was the second person Conan could talk to and he planned to do just that once Rei and Shizuka sat down to study. Conan already had his excuse ready when he noticed Shizuka acting strangely.

Rei was in the kitchen, preparing snacks for the study session. Normally, Shizuka would be in there, sneaking bites while Rei’s back was turned, ignoring the threat of a karate chop or round-house kick. Today, she was not.

Shizuka was planted in front of the TV, watching intently. The screen showed the local news station. Nothing particularly special had happened, but Shizuka sat inches from it, as if waiting for something to appear on screen. He had never seen her so focused on anything that was not case-related or a sale at the nearby mall.

“Shizuka-nee-chan,” Conan called. “You’ll hurt your eyes if you sit so close.”

“Hah?” She looked up at him, then down at herself. She looked mildly surprised, as if she did not realize how intently she had been watching. “Ah, you’re right, chibi-kun. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.” He stared at her, debating asking, but his curiosity won out. “Were you waiting on a news story or something? You were concentrating really hard.”

“Something like that.” She scratched her head, face confused. “It just… I’ve had this feeling for the past few days that something big is going to happen soon. No, _should_ happen soon. And that something will show up on the news first, like a warning of some kind. So I’ve been watching the news every day, but so far nothing.”

“Ah, you have that feeling too?” Rei asked as she appeared from the kitchen, tray of snacks in hand. She set the tray on the low table before taking a seat beside Shizuka. “I’ve felt similarly over the past few days. I thought it was just me, but maybe there was an ad about a new restaurant opening?”

“Maybe…” Shizuka frowned. She reached for a snack to munch on. “But this feels different, more… _exciting_.”

Rei made a noise of understanding. The two fell silent as they continued to watch the news. Conan pondered their words.

Something big? A warning via news outlet? It kind of sounded like the first heist Conan had-?

No… could it be? Could the thing with his phone just be one of many things hanging around them? Could it be a sign of something bigger? What else had Conan missed? He needed to talk to someone about this.

“Rei-nee-chan.” Conan tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. “Can I go over to the professor’s house? He has a new invention and I want to see it!”

“Oh…” Rei frowned deeply and pulled up a weather app on her phone. “Not tonight Conan. There’s supposed to be a big storm and I don’t want you walking home alone.”

“But, I wanna see it!” Conan whined, wincing internally at the unbecoming behavior.

“I said ‘no’, Conan-kun,” Rei said firmly. Her tone brokered no argument. “I’m sure the professor wouldn’t want you out in the storm either.”

“But—!”

“His invention will be there tomorrow.”

“… Yes, Rei-nee-chan.” Conan’s shoulders drooped at the firm end to the discussion. Turning away, he headed for the room he shared with Totoro. He knew it was not right to be frustrated as Rei was doing her best to keep him safe, but being a child restricted him in more ways than one.

As he closed the door behind him, he heard Shizuka make a comment. “You know, you could just let him run out there and get sick. Then he’d learn why it is he shouldn’t play in the rain.”

“Shizuka, that’s so mean!” Rei hissed back, her voice lowered to keep him from hearing. “Besides, I doubt he would actually learn his lesson. He’s too much like Shinichi to let a little rain get the better of him.”

“Well, you’ve got _that_ right about chibi-kun.”

Conan closed the door firmly, shutting off their comments about both him and the man he _really_ was. He could choose to let the words get to him, to drive his brain around in circles for hours until he fell into a fitful sleep… or he could get some actual progress made.

He texted both Haibara and KID.

_ I need to talk to you. _

KID sent back.

_ Busy tonight. Try tomorrow? _

_ It’s really important! _

Conan tried, to no response. His phone buzzed, but it was Haibara, not KID.

She sent back.

_ Polite as ever, I see. _

_ This is serious. I’ve noticed a couple strange things. I would have passed them off as coincidence, but they started piling up. _

_ Strange how? _

_ Those sites that I found while researching KID before? They don’t immediately reroute to Error 404 anymore. The serve times out first. _

_ Not really anything out of the ordinary. _

_ Consistently? For days? _

_ Poor connection problems happen, Kudou. _

_ Fine, then Shizuka is acting weird. _

_ How so? _

_ She’s sitting super close to the TV over at our house. She’s ignoring Rei’s snacks and keeps watching the news. She says there’s something big about to happen! Rei agrees with her too. They both think something is about to go down soon. _

_ A gut feeling, really? You know how I feel about superstitions. _

Conan wanted to let out a frustrated growl, but held it in.

_ Fine, how about the fact that there hasn’t been a homicide for the past three weeks? _

_ How is that my problem? And how would that relate? _

_ Look at the statistics for last month and this one. _

Conan went and found a site for statistics and sent her the link.

_ High levels of homicide or attempted homicide for weeks, *months*. Then it just arbitrarily drops off? Right around the time we got a certain guest? _

_ People could have decided to talk out their differences instead of resorting to murder.  _

_ Haibara! _

_ Okay, fine. It’s a little suspicious. What do you want me to do about it? Look into every little incident for the past few weeks? _

Conan paused mid-reply, because… he did not know what he wanted to do. He wanted research, yeah, to prove he wasn't going crazy, but what counted as happenstance and what fell in with these ‘strange’ occurrences? His phone buzzed.

_ Kudou, you can’t be serious. _

_ Not every little thing, but any reports that happen to revolve around locations or topics would work. KID in particular, but also Division Two, Jirono Sonaki and any gems KID has taken in the past. I’ll get him to send you a list. _

_ What do you think this is? _

Conan typed, erased, and re-typed a message several times before finally replying with:

_ I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. _


	20. Chapter 18

It was ridiculously easy to find Tantei-kun’s school.

Despite being shrunk to the body of an elementary student, Tantei-kun hadn’t attempted to keep himself out of the spotlight in the least. There were several newspaper articles about the detective club ‘Shounen Tantei’ that featured Tantei-kun as its leader, along with several other kids from his school, Teitan Elementary.

Onee-chan was listed as well, though her photo never showed with the group. Tantei-kun could learn a thing or two from her.

Anyway, it was easy to find the name of the school and then use _that_ to find its address. Then, it was as simple as following directions and, there I was —waiting at the entrance to pick Tantei-kun up from school that Friday.

Our text conversation the night before was still fresh in my mind, as were the various occurrences I had run into on my recon. It probably would have been best to wait until he excused himself from his non-sister’s presence, but I couldn’t help myself.

I needed answers now and he was the only other person I knew that could have an idea.

He spotted me long before I did him. He was practically running towards me when I lifted a hand to wave. “Oi! Tantei—kah!”

He torpedoed himself into my stomach, feet first. I felt to the ground, gasping for breath. His glasses glinted above me as he hissed. _“Do not call me that here._”

I coughed in agreement.

He huffed and crossed his arms. “Now, what are you doing here, waiting for me?”

Before I could choke out a response, three other voices called out.

“Conan-kun!”

“Conan!”

“Oi! Why’d you run off?”

Looking up, I saw the other three kids that made up the Shounen Tantei-dan: darling Ayumi, cautious Mitsuhiko, and lumbering Genta.

I had been hoping to steal Tantei-kun away before they got here, but it looked like Lady Luck was not with me today.

“Who’s this nii-san?” Ayumi asked, looking worried about me.

“And why’s he on the ground?” Mitsuhiko followed up.

“Is he a bad guy? A pervert?” Genta squinted at me harshly. I knew who was _not_ the brains of the operation.

“This is my brother,” Tantei-kun said as he turned his back to me. “He’s not a bad guy… but he might be a perve.”

“O-Oi!” I grunted as I pushed myself to my feet. “That’s not nice, Ta—_Co-chan.”_

His glare turned fierce, but I didn’t get another young child to the gut, so I called it a win.

“Conan-kun has a brother?!” Ayumi looked astounded and stared at me with sparkling eyes.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Mitsuhiko added. He put a finger to his chin. “Although… they do look very similar, don’t they?”

“Do they?” Genta squinted at me, but for an entirely different reason this time. “I don’t see it.”

Hmm… Maybe this kid was sharper than he looked.

“Anyway, why is your brother here now?” Mitsuhiko asked, brow furrowed. “Are your parents here too? Have they come to visit?”

“Are they gonna take you away?” Genta asked seriously. “Where did your parents live again? America?”

“Conan-kun’s moving to America?!” Ayumi gasped and started to wail. “Conan-kun can’t go to America! Not without Ayumi!”

Mitsuhiko and Genta’s disposition darkened.

“Calm down,” Tantei-kun ordered, not unkindly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Huh?” Ayumi blinked and scrubbed at the tears in her eyes. “No?”

Tantei-kun sighed and shook his head.

“Then why is your brother here?” Genta asked, utterly confused.

“What?” I scowled at them. “I can’t want to spend time with my adorable little brother?”

“My ‘nee-chan doesn’t want to spend time with me,” Mitsuhiko argued. He added begrudgingly. “Not unless she’s trying to convince me to do her chores for her.”

“Co-chan and I are different kinds of siblings!” I clutched at my chest dramatically. “We have a _special_ _bond_!”

The kids stared for several seconds. Tantei-kun looked frozen.

“Brother complex.” The trio decided as one.

“Heh?” Tantei-kun choked.

“Anyway, we’ll be off!” I saluted them and picked Tantei-kun up by his backpack. “I’ve got a whole weekend planned for us! It was nice meeting my precious baby brother’s friends!”

Ayumi blushed at the compliment while Mitsuhiko and Genta still looked unsure.

“Oi, oi!” Tantei-kun griped, kicking out as he complained. “Put me down! I can walk!”

“Aw, but it’s been _so long_ since I’ve seen you!” I grinned as I held him more securely.

“Bye Conan-kun!” Ayumi waved as she called after us. “Let’s play with your brother next time, okay?”

I laughed and waved at her until we turned the corner.

Tantei-kun promptly aimed a kick. I was expecting it and held him out at arm’s length to protect my vulnerable bits. I scolded him lightly as I walked. “Tantei-kun, that’s no way to treat your older brother who traveled _all the way from America_ to see you!”

“You aren’t my brother and I’m not from America,” Tantei-kun growled, squirming to get out of my grasp. “Why did you have to act like that?”

“Why not?” I cocked my head to the side. “It’s what you get for body-slamming my stomach. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to see them again after I leave.”

“Maybe not, but you should have thought about _me_.” Tantei-kun ran an exasperated hand through his hair. “Now, they think I have an older brother with a _complex_. Next thing I know, they’ll probably set up a rescue mission to keep me away from you. Or come up with some _other_ inane thing that could possibly get them hurt or killed.”

“You mean, like you have a tendency to do?” I gave him a very pointed look.

He scowled at me from over his shoulder. “How do you know what tendencies I have?”

“When there’s nothing else to do at home, I like to research,” I replied. “You never know what you can learn by a simple search —like the deeds of a little club of detectives and where they go to school.”

His scowl deepened, but it turned more towards self-pity. “Of course that’s how you would find me.”

“And it didn’t take long either.” I frowned. “You should take a page out of Onee-chan’s book. Keep your picture out of the newspaper.”

“I have it a little easier than her,” he defended. “The… organization has pictures of her as a child. They have no idea what I look like.”

“Perhaps, but… if a person who had never known ‘Kudou Shinichi’ or ‘Edogawa Conan’ had been able to put it together as easily as I did…” My eyes narrowed of their own accord. “Shouldn’t that tell you something?”

He fell quiet, whispering only briefly. “… you and Hakori both.”

“What was that?”

“I said put me down!” He wiggled violently. “I can walk!”

“Fine, fine.” I set him down… then dodged the kick to my face I knew he would attempt. Then dodged the kick to my shin he followed up with.

“Stand still and let me hit you,” he ordered.

“I think not.” I laughed nervously and held my hands up in surrender. “I rather don’t like pain, Tantei-kun.”

He huffed and turned back around, scanning our surroundings. We were already to the end of the block where his house stood. It was the best place for the discussion we were about to have.

He must have noticed, because we finished the walk in silence, questions kept until after the door had closed behind us.

“What were you doing last night?” He asked as soon as we were safely ensconced.

“I was doing recon on the hotel,” I answered honestly. “Making sure that the blueprints hadn’t changed between my world and this one.”

“The hotel… the Sonaki hotel?” His brow furrowed in confusion before his quick mind made the connection. “Plan B. You’re going to pull a heist.”

I shrugged gleefully. “Guilty as charged.”

“KID, you can’t just go around doing these things! They’re _illegal_!” He slammed his fist against the wall to emphasize his point.

“What would you have me do, Tantei-kun?” I asked, Poker Face carefully in place. “Let the gem leave the country before we figure out how to use it? Chase after the exhibit and get closer to being caught every time I show up in the security cameras? A person showing so much interest in a travelling jewelry collection, I’m sure that won’t get anyone’s attention.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but no words came forth. He knew I was right.

“Once we figure out how to get you back, you will return the gem,” he ordered.

“I can’t do that,” I said, voice stiff as steel.

“_KID_—!”

“No, Tantei-kun, this is something I cannot bend on.” I slid my hands into my pockets, feeling the magical gems hidden there. “The _Looking Glass Quartz_ is dangerous. If you hadn’t come along, I would have been left on the streets with no one realizing I was gone. Had I been anyone else, I would never have made the connection that the gem I touched had been the one to deposit me in a different world. It’s too dangerous to have anyone else handle it. I fear that too many poor souls have been lost to it already.”

Tantei-kun gritted his teeth, but this too, he knew to be the truth. I could not, in good conscience, allow a gem like this one to skip off into the unknown. That was just asking for some poor schmuck to end up in the same situation I found myself in.

“We’ll discuss this more later,” Tantei-kun decided, but I knew I had already made up my mind. He knew the same. “I noticed something strange last night —lots of strange things.”

“Oh?” I blinked, allowing my Poker Face to go back into hiding for now. “What sort of strange things?”

“One.” He held up a finger. “The number of homicides in Tokyo has been nearly non-existent for the last three weeks —the exact same amount of time you have been in my world.”

“I mean… that doesn’t sound like a bad thing, Tantei-kun.” I wrinkled my nose. “Your world had _far_ too many to start with. I’m kind of wondering how your population is still so large when you had someone dying pretty much every day.”

He scowled at me, but held up a second finger. “Two, the sites I used to research KID no longer come up with a ‘Page not found’ error. Now, the server times out before the link can connect.”

“Again, not too strange.” I shrugged. “The site for the news station might just be experiencing issues.”

“Three, Shizuka acted strange yesterday. She sat in front of the television, watching intently for something. In her words, she was looking for a ‘warning of some kind’ that would come before ‘something big’ happened soon.” He dropped his hand, his point made. “Rei felt the same.”

“A warning? Something big?” I thought for a second, but the only thing that came to mind was… “A heist?”

“That’s my thought,” Tantei-kun agreed. He put his hands in his jacket pockets as his gaze dropped to the floor. “It’s almost like they’re starting to remember your world, like everything is starting to reconnect, but the question is: _why_? Before, I only saw the heist notice _the day of_, but we’re still a week away from any kind of heist, right?”

“The night of the full moon is my usual MO.” I nodded. “And those aren’t the only instances of weirdness either.”

“Heh?” His gaze shot up, pinning me in place. “What do you mean?”

“My trick from last heist,” I explained. “The mirrors, the smokescreen, the power sapper to cut the lights—it’s all exactly where I left it. And unless there’s some other thief out there that uses the same logo as me, it’s all _my_ equipment. But last weekend? And the weekend we went with Ghost-kun and Miko-chan? _None_ of that was there. All of the things I had used in my heist had disappeared.”

“And now they’re back,” he reiterated with a serious tone. “Just like the news sites and the feeling Shizuka and Rei got. Even the low homicide rate, _everything_ is connected. But why? Why is this happening _now_?”

“Because two parallel worlds are just that—_parallel._”

I whirled around to find Onee-chan standing in the doorway, laptop in hand.

“They were never supposed to meet.”


	21. Chapter 19

“What are you talking about?” Conan asked.

“The overlapping effect you two are talking about,” Haibara clarified. She passed between them to set her laptop on the living room coffee table. It powered on as she spoke. “Various objects that should appear in only one world, but are showing up in this one. Collective memories or feelings by large numbers of people. Websites reaching out into the ether. They are all symptoms of a larger problem at hand.”

“Symptoms?” KID asked, just as Conan said. “Problem.”

“In theoretical physics, parallel universes are, strictly speaking, _parallel_, with no way of touching or influencing the other,” Haibara continued. “Alternate universes are not, technically, parallel, so they are able to brush other universes on occasion. Usually neither population even knows that it has happened.”

“Usually,” Conan repeated, catching the key word.

“You are a bit of an exception, remembering KID when no one else does,” Haibara noted as she typed in her password. “Tell me, do you remember the day he entered this world?”

“The day of his last heist?” Conan thought for a moment. “It was strange. All this talk of an international thief and a hub-bub on the news over a little card.”

“Hey!”

“How long did that last before everyone’s memories seemingly went back to normal?” Haibara asked.

“Less than twenty-four hours,” Conan reported. “The notice appeared after school that Friday and his heist was only hours later. I stayed up until midnight researching him on those sites. In the morning, all the articles were gone.”

“Sounds similar to my own experience,” KID commented. “I had never heard of Tantei-kun before, but the police still let a child into the crime scene like he was some authority they listened to. And he figured out my notice so easily too. Then, just after midnight, I went to return home, but the house no longer belonged to me. It was like a switch went off or something and I was no longer in my world.”

Conan glared for the ‘child’ comment, but Haibara paid him no mind as she typed away at her keyboard. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

“Haibara, what’s going on?” Conan demanded.

“Though alternate universes may brush against each other from time to time, they were never meant to overlap, nor to leave something or _someone_ behind,” Haibara explained. “A few hours of overlap here or there would be nothing, but these strange occurrences are being caused by a persisting force. One universe is not just overlapping with another, it’s _overtaking it_.”

Conan felt ice fill his veins. KID looked uncomfortable. “What does that mean for us, Onee-chan?”

“For most, not much,” Haibara said. She looked over to him. “Ever heard of the Mandela Effect?”

“Mandela Effect?”

“It’s a phenomenon where hundreds of people all have the same, incorrect memories. Pikachu’s tail is a common one many fight over —whether it ever had a black stripe on the end or not,” Haibara said. “The common belief is that these people came from a different universe where the particular memory is true.”

“So there have been other dimension travelers before?” Conan extrapolated. “What could have done something with such vast numbers? And how did they get back?”

“To start off with, they didn’t. Or if they did, none of us remember it because either we didn’t notice or weren’t directly involved as you and I are now,” Haibara said. “But to answer your other question, many think that it is a phenomenon that can take place randomly and without reason.”

“You don’t think that?” Conan guessed.

“I believe there is a scientific answer for everything,” she said. “Just because we don’t have the technology doesn’t mean some alternate universe doesn’t.”

Conan thought for a second, then nodded in understanding.

“Another possibility is that the people were not the ones to switch places, but the universes merged, one overlapping another collective memory and overwriting history itself.” Haibara looked over to him. “Essentially what is happening to our universe and his.”

Conan paled.

“What will happen to me?” KID asked. “I don’t exist in your world. I am a non-entity. When the universes merge, will I disappear?”

“Unlikely,” Haibara said. “Your universe seems to be dominating the merger at this point. People’s memories of you are strengthening, even if they don’t recognize it.”

“If it weren’t? If my universe were the one failing?” KID pressed.

Haibara frowned. “But it’s not. There’s no reason to theorize…?”

“He’s asking for me, Haibara.” Conan managed the words through numb lips. “We… aren’t certain, but we theorized that the reason I remembered him in the first place was the same reason he remembered himself. He has no memories to merge with this world’s. Therefore, I have no memories to merge with his. I also never remembered hearing about him before his heist while everyone else had. It makes sense.”

“So, if you have no memories to merge with, I assume you will remember this world clearly and would have to relearn KID’s world.” Haibara frowned, suddenly looking worried. “But other people’s memories of you might distort. Those close to you, with a powerful connection might remember you best, but all others would expel you from their memories… if the alternate universe doesn’t do so first.”

“Could it do that?” KID asked.

“Working with entirely theoretical facts?” Haibara clarified. “You were misplaced from your world and now it is encroaching on ours in order to reclaim you. Like calls to like. The opposite is true too. As a resident solely to one universe, another universe may reject Edogawa-kun’s very existence. It may not be that people won’t remember him, but that they _can’t_. Because Edogawa Conan never existed.”

Conan felt his entire body turn to stone.

Could he really just… stop existing? Was that even _possible?_ He knew Haibara was talking purely theoretically, that this kind of thing had never been proven to have happened before… but the facts were all there. He could follow logic and make his own deductions and none of them looked good.

Was this really the end? Was this where his life stopped? In this body? Without Rei knowing? With the Black Organization still out there? With Haibara still in danger? With hundreds, _thousands_, of lives still at stake?

No. It couldn’t end like this. He wouldn’t allow it.

“How do we stop it?” Conan demanded.

“Easiest way would be to put Kaitou-san back into his world.” Haibara scowled at her computer as she typed. “But I say ‘easiest’ in the sense that it is the only option. Nothing else could stop the merger. What’s more, I’m not sure it’s even _possible_. Our technology is nowhere _near_ what it needs to be for inter-dimensional travel. So, unless we can replicate the way he crossed over in the first place…”

The dire consequences were left unvoiced, but Conan heard every word. Luckily, they weren’t so far out of reach.

“We have an idea of how to get KID back to his world,” Conan said. “It all comes down to magic gems.”

“One gem in particular.” KID held up a finger at Haibara’s disgusted look. “The one I targeted at the last heist, the _Looking Glass Quartz_.”

“Really? You want to place your faith in _magic_?” she said, exuding disbelief through every pore of her being. “Magic isn’t real.”

KID looked surprised. “Don’t you remember? I already showed you that I could fly.”

Haibara opened her mouth to respond, but paused. Conan looked at her worriedly. “Haibara?”

She startled. “Sorry, I just… forgot until you mentioned it.” She looked perplexed —similar to how Shizuka looked the night before. Conan felt his stomach lurch.

“Anyway,” she shook herself. “If you have an idea of how to leave, why haven’t you done so already?”

“It took a while to figure it out.” KID frowned. “When I first held the stone, there was no magical energy radiating from it. I thought it was just an ordinary rock. When I went back later, the power had grown. It has been growing since. Last night, it was even stronger.”

“Storing power?” Haibara tilted her head. “Being a Quartz, that makes sense. Quartz can act like batteries under the right conditions. Perhaps, this one stores the kind of energy to jump dimension… will it be enough there?”

“We can only try and find out,” Conan said.

“Hmm…” Haibara hit the enter key on her laptop and turned it around to show them. “In any case, whatever you’re doing, you’ll have to do it quickly. By my estimations, you only have seven days until the merger reaches the point of no return and no amount of sending KID back to his world will stop it.”

A countdown timer stared them in the face, along with several different lists and two separate maps, one of Tokyo, Japan and one of the world at large. The world map had different areas marked with a red glow, but the number around Japan far outweighed those across the globe. The lists shifted up and up and up, like a chatroom when too many people tried to talk at once.

With a sudden spark of connection, Conan realized: those were _exactly_ what those lists were. They were chatrooms, connected to people all over the world who were experiencing similar memories or feelings about the universe around them changing. Some even added pictures and comments about some landmark or another changing or some other factoid in history scrambling and reassembling itself in a different way.

As the lists scrolled up, two more marks added themselves to Tokyo’s map.

“What is this?” KID asked, voice perfectly calm. His Poker Face no doubt.

“Edogawa-kun asked me to look into any strange things that have popped up over the course of the last three weeks,” Haibara said. She sent a glare to Conan as she explained. “It took me all night and most of the morning before I had a program that could compile all the different discussions occurring and pinpoint locations of nexuses of change.”

“I just told you to get the big ones!” Conan defended. “You didn’t have to go after every little thing!”

“I did,” Haibara stated. “The ones listed are game-changing. I double-checked the numbers myself, but anything that had over 1000 people making remarks was enough to throw a flag. Anything with over 100,000 was enough to earn a marker. Anything over double that…”

Another chatroom opened up on the screen. It started with one line, then two, then five, then the entire window was filled.

“Opens up a link to the chatroom that earned the mark,” Haibara finished, looking down at the screen with legitimate worry on her face. Her eyes trailed to Conan. “Whatever you two have planned, you’ll have to work fast. I have no actual numbers I can run except some hypothetical formulas, so I can’t say for certain we even have a week left, but time is closing and it’s closing fast.”

She took one more look at the laptop screen before heading to the door, leaving them with the red numbers counting down. “I won’t be affected, as I have no memory of KID appearing in this world other than when you introduced us. I don’t know what this means for the ‘me’ that exists in his world —whether I got the courage to run when I saw you, Edogawa-kun, or whether I faced the destiny they had planned for me. Either way, I will not remember the outcome, whatever it will be.”

She paused in the door way, door half closed to look back. “But I do have this to say. This life I have? With Professor and the kids? I like it much better than my other one.” Her eyes burned where they locked with Conan’s. “Make sure I don’t lose it, Detective-san.”

Then she closed the door behind her and left the two alone.

There was silence, then…

KID let out a low whistle. “Wow, Onee-chan is _really_ scary.”

“And that was her asking nicely,” Conan replied by rote. His heart was beating too loudly in his ears and his ribs felt like they were constricting his lungs, but he had no time to deal with either of those two things. The countdown was staring him straight in the face.

They had one week to fix this, or the world as he knew it would disappear.

“Do you really think we can afford to chase the gem across the country now, Tantei-kun?” KID asked. His words were taunting, but his tone was serious. He knew Conan would never agree to allow a crime to be committed, but if the other option were to lose Conan’s very life…

Conan gritted his teeth, but he knew there was no other option. “Plan B it is.”

KID smiled broadly, reminding Conan of the logo left on the heist notice. “Very good Tantei-kun. Now, there’s just a few things I need to go over with you. After all, what is a magician without his lovely assistant?”

Sometimes, Conan really hated his life.


	22. Chapter 20

With our plan in place, I set about gathering the rest of what was needed.

It wasn’t much.

With my props from last time returning to me and the availability of chemicals in the KID Cave, my trap from last time was set. It wasn’t good to reuse a trick in front of the same audience, so I had to tweak it a bit. It was a good thing I had thought to grab my dual-pronged Tiger’s Eye tie pin –_Doppel Bild_. Otherwise, Tantei-kun might have needed to foot the bill for some projectors.

The main trick took little to set up. Other than sneaking around in highly secured areas to fill up some canisters, it was nothing. It was the _other_ bullet point in our plan that required some work.

Handling the _Looking Glass Quartz_ correctly re-wired kid gloves… or more accurately, _KID’s_ gloves. Tantei-kun absolutely could not touch the gem. If it sparked on accident, he would be thrust into my world and with the countdown so close, it would make disentangling the universes impossible. But for the plan to work, I needed Tantei-kun’s help.

So, with Orchid’s permission, I took apart several of her silver chain necklaces and got to work. Most people knew that circles entrapped magic in spells and that silver repelled magic entirely. What they often didn’t know, was that combining the two into a silver circle like those in simple chain necklaces could be used to contain magic and keep spells from going off when they weren’t supposed to.

A glove made out of such material would allow a wearer to touch a magical object, even a cursed one, and feel no effect. They were also much lighter and cheaper than a full gauntlet of silver and easier to hide in pockets as well. Orchid’s necklaces had more oval shaped chain links, but so long as the silver circles were small enough not to let skin touch, they could be used.

So after other preparations had been made, much of my week was spent bent over a desk with a pair of tweezers, a desk lamp, and a set of jeweler’s glasses, hard at work. I had managed to get a mold of Tantei-kun’s hand in order to correctly size the glove, but only after much explanation and persuasion. Tantei-kun really didn’t want to help with the heist, but he came around eventually. Besides, it wasn’t like the people from his world would remember it after that night.

Despite how desperately we needed the glove, there was only so much time I could spend bent over in such a position before I needed to get out and stretch. When that happened, I found myself in the park, putting on a show for the children of all ages. I had to make sure to conserve my supplies before the heist, but it was great practice and the children took very little to be entertained.

It was at one of these times, _he_ appeared.

* * * * *

I finished my last trick with a crackle of small sparklers, bowing dramatically as the children gasped and laughed in awe. They squealed in excitement and demanded that I continue, but I explained that I had no more tricks for the day. They were sad for all of a second before they perked up and excitedly spoke among themselves about my tricks, trying to figure out how they worked.

They knew better than to ask me by now.

The sound of clapping drew my attention from my young audience. At the noise, the children scattered, going back to their own games and toys.

"Not bad," an almost familiar voice said after the crowd had dispersed. My heart leapt into my chest as I instinctively froze. Swallowing thickly around it, I plastered a grin on my face and turned to greet the one who spoke —Kuroba Toichi, my father.

No, that was wrong. That wasn’t his name here. His name here was Bokuro Toushi. Despite the difference in name, the overlap was too striking to ignore. It had thrown me off the first time I had seen him, but I was better prepared now. His appearance only caused me a slight hesitation, instead of a complete freeze-up.

My smile widened.

"Coming from someone like you, it is the highest of praise." I bowed theatrically to him, as I had to my audience. "I've yet to see a magician more skilled than you, P—Bokuro-sensei."

The title tasted sour on my tongue.

"Be that as it may, you would certainly give me a run for my money." He laughed and walked closer, until we were shoulder to shoulder. "How long have you been practicing?"

"Since I was a boy," I answered truthfully. It was a safe answer. No one could get as skilled as I was so young unless they started early. He took my answer at face value.

"Who taught you?" he wondered. "Your father?"

"A little here and there." I shrugged. "I mostly come up with my own tricks, have since I was nine."

He let out a low whistle. "Impressive. Your father approved, I take it?"

"On some things." I thought darkly about KID and the mask I hid behind. Being KID had killed my father. I’m sure he would have mourned the fact that I followed his footsteps so closely. Still, I couldn’t say I regretted it. "On other things, not so much."

"Oh?" He looked surprised. "And you chose to continue regardless?"

Wait, were we still talking about magic? "Though he was my father, I ultimately make my own decisions. He understood that much."

"You use past tense." He frowned suddenly worried. "Has he died recently?"

How ironic was it to discuss my father's death with the man himself?

I laughed. "No, it was years ago, when I was still a kid. It’s been long enough that the ache has lessened."

It still felt like I was missing a limb— wound scarred, but evident— but that was neither here nor there.

He was quiet for a moment in respect before starting on a tangent. "I saw you at my show the other night. It would have been a few weeks ago by now, but I remember seeing you out in the audience."

I blinked, tensing. That was... impossible right? With so many people there, there was no way he could have picked me out from the crowd, nor remembered my face from the dimness of the audience seating.

"Third row on the balcony," he recalled. "I felt a pair of eyes staring at me with such intensity, I almost feared for my life. Thought some jealous young one had been after me."

A stone dropped into my stomach at the thought.

"My second thought was that my favorite critic had shown up, trying his hand at solving my tricks once again, but I knew that wasn't the case." He looked contemplative. "He always sits in the front row. Has a reserved seat and everything. It’s too bad, I always have more fun when he's around. Always pull out my best tricks."

Funny, it almost sounded like me and Tantei-kun. Granted, we've only squared off the one time, but I remembered hoping he would make an appearance at my next heist, if only so I could wow him with my best tricks. I wondered if all magicians felt this way about one person in particular…

"So you spotted me out of a crowd because I stared too hard?" I asked teasingly.

"I spotted you because —while everyone's face showed awe and surprise —yours did not. Yes, you were having fun at my show, but your face was still somehow sad." He frowned and looked at me with a furrowed brow. "I couldn't help but want to know why. But you fled so quickly, I couldn't ask. Then I happened upon you today and thought it Fate that we met."

_Or bad luck_... I wanted to say, but refrained. I watched his expectant face, eyes bright, as I formulated my response. Slowly, as if testing my words, I spoke. "Pops and I... we used to watch some of your shows. It was a special thing, just me and him. You are the one who inspired me to go into magic in the first place, but I couldn't help remembering my father when I sat in that crowd and watched. Your show was fantastic. My sadness was my own."

"You miss him a lot," he noted. I made a noise of acknowledgement. "How did he die?"

I felt my throat burn. "Accident at work. Equipment wasn't tested correctly. He paid the price."

It was true enough.

He frowned. "You don't sound as if you believe that."

Had my bitterness been too evident?

"I did believe it for a long time," I insisted. "But... things have happened to make me doubt that the accident with the equipment... was really an accident."

He frowned. "You think someone tampered with it?"

"I _know_ someone did," I corrected. "And when I find them, I’ll make them get their dues."

His face darkened. "Boy, revenge is not the answer —it never is."

"Relax, I’m not going to do anything personally." I waved him off, though I really wished I could. "I'm collecting evidence against them to turn into the police. It’s a long, arduous task that I’m sure will be worth it in the end. In the meantime, I just make it a point to interrupt as many of their plans as I can."

"Their plans?" he looked confused, but I'd already said too much.

"Don't worry, it's nothing you need to be concerned about." I patted his shoulder before I could think better of it. "They aren't here and you aren't a part of this," —not now, not anymore— "so don't worry about it."

"I think I should be worried when someone is potentially using magic for illegal means." he crossed his arms.

"Oh, no, the magic is just because I love sleight of hand." I fanned out a set of cards before throwing them up and leaving them to hang in mid-air with a little help from my favorite little gem. His eyes widened at the sight. "It's something of a calling card of mine."

Before he could ask more, my phone rang —or the phone Tantei-kun let me borrow. Speaking of...

"Detective?" Pops read the Caller ID, but I was already answering the phone.

"Tantei-kun!" I cheered into the phone. "It's the middle of the day! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

_"... What's with this false cheer? Did something happen?"_

"Just in the park, putting on a magic show." I turned away from Pops to gather my props. "You need something?"

_“…We’ll be discussing this later. I wanted to go over the plans we have for this weekend. The countdown is close. We’re really pushing our time limit. I just want to make sure we have everything all figured out. Meet me at home so we can go over them again. And bring your map of the maze so we can go over it again."_

"Aye-aye, Captain!" I saluted the air. "Will do!"

_"And KID? Drop the act. You aren’t fooling anyone."_

I knew he was right, but the polite smile was a mask I was comfortable with. Once I was back in my own world, I’d let myself process everything, but right now, I could not afford the distraction.

"Sorry, Bokuro-sensei." I put my phone away and bowed. "But I have to go. I am needed elsewhere."

"By your detective?" He smiled. "Did you hire him to help with your case?"

"Something like that!" I laughed. Waving, I turned and ran, ready to leave as soon as possible. Part of me wanted to stay though. He was my _father. _I would probably never get another chance to see him again, to talk with him like I just did, but...

That man wasn't my father, not really. My father was dead and this man was a person unto himself. As much as I wished it, these two were not the same. They never would be.

I should never forget that. To do so would be a mistake I could not afford.

After that day, I never went back to that park. I didn’t get the chance.

The heist notice was in the mail. My plans were in effect.

The countdown was underway.


	23. Chapter 21

Today was the day, Makanori could feel it in his mustache. Today would be the day he finally accomplished what he set out to do. All those years had been leading up to this.

He… was not exactly sure what ‘this’ was, but he knew it was important.

Enough to get out of bed a full two hours before his alarm. Enough to skip the delicious breakfast his daughter always made for him. Enough that he was nearly skipping into work as the night shift passed him with baffled expressions.

So whatever it was, it was _important_.

Then he saw it.

A white envelope, no address, no name, sitting atop Division Two’s mail pile. Nothing on the front except D-2 and a familiar, smiling logo drawn in pen.

It all came back to him in a rush— the white suit against black sky, the acid chemical smell as a smoke bomb was thrown, that taunting smile as his goal fled his grasp again and again and again.

_Kaitou KID_!

How he ever forgot about that diabolical thief, Makanori did not know, but he paid it no mind now. After all, the full moon meant a letter, a letter a heist, and a heist, the opportunity to finally, _finally_, capture the twice damned thief.

Something important indeed.

* * * * *

Shizuka was watching the news like she had done every morning for two weeks now. She was not usually one to do so— after all, the news only showed depressing things—so she was not sure how she felt about the new habit. Sure, she watched it when she was being applauded for solving a case, but there had not been any cases lately and, come to think of it, _that_ was strange in and of itself.

As she sat there musing about the irregularity of cases, something on the news caught her eye.

A white envelope, paired with the card inside, marked by the graceful lines of a smiling magician.

Immediately, it all came rushing back to her—the billowing cape like wings in the night, the awe of a new impossible trick, the handsome smile that beckoned her to find him.

_KID-sama_…

How could she have ever forgotten her first love? The thief of her heart? The man of her dreams?

How she did so, she did not know, but it did not matter. After all, a letter meant a performance, a performance a challenge, and a challenge meant another chance to capture KID-sama and make him her own.

“Shizuka-darling!” her mother called. “Your uncle is on the phone for you! He says he has a case he wants you to take on!”

No doubt it had something to do with the heist notice displayed on the screen of her televisions—a riddle packed to the brim with Lewis Carroll references.

She grinned. “Coming, Mother!”

Oh yes, this time, the thief would be hers.

* * * * *

Hakuga had remembered that morning. One look at the notice and he remembered _everything_.

Remembered the shadowed face beneath a concealing monocle and wide-brim hat. Remembered moonlit chats on rooftops and balconies before the thief took off into the night. Remembered the smell of gunpowder as the thief shot his ridiculous card gun, only to embed paper into solid concrete.

He remembered everything to do with Kaitou KID, but… there was still something missing, something he should _know_.

He arrived at school, still mulling over the missing information when he saw Miss Makanori standing by his desk. No, not his desk, the empty one beside his.

Had she not stood there once before…?

“Makanori-chan, is there something I can help you with?” Hakuga asked as he got near.

She looked to him, confusion written all over her face, then back to the empty desk. “My father went out early this morning. So early, he even skipped breakfast. I didn’t know why until I saw that _stupid notice_ on the news this morning.”

“KID’s notice?” Hakuga guessed. It could not be any other. It was the talk of the city after all and her father was the lead inspector on KID’s case. It made sense.

(He did not recall how he knew that, but it felt right.)

“Yeah.” She pouted. “I wanted to come rant to him today, but I guess he must be sick or something.”

“Who?”

She looked at him curiously, before naming the student that belonged in the empty desk next to his and suddenly, Hakuga _remembered_.

He remembered that _infuriating_ smile on his classmate’s face as Hakuga accused him of being KID for the umpteenth time. Infuriating because he knew that, no matter how much Hakuga tried, he would never get enough proof to make an arrest.

This time, though. This time, Hakuga would catch him red-handed. He would unmask that thief in front of the whole world. Because KID had to get lucky _every time_ to escape Hakuga’s clutches. But Hakuga?

Hakuga only had to get lucky once.

* * * * *

Hakori was accosted at the door by Kuzama.

“Have you seen this?” she demanded, shoving her phone in his face. He had to do some fancy footwork to not end up with a broken nose, but when he finally focused, he noticed the site name first. It was a news stations, but not one for Kyoto.

No, this one was for Tokyo and it broadcasted a very familiar logo.

Immediately, he remembered everything, but it was not the white figure on the news station that came to mind. No, it was a random trip to Tokyo. It was a stranger wearing his friend’s face. It was a spilling of secrets and impossible stories and an understanding in spite of both of them.

He finally connected the person with his title: Kaitou KID.

Hakori had never paid much attention to him in the past. Why would he? The thief had never come to Osaka. Now, though, after meeting the man, his interest was piqued.

It would not be too out of the ordinary to go for a visit, right? After all, it looked like the owner of the target was enlisting every detective he could get his hands on.

This was going to be fun.

* * * * *

** _We meet again, crimson King_ **

** _Amidst a field of red and white._ **

** _You thought me after your queen,_ **

** _But instead I took your knight._ **

** _Now the tables have turned_ **

** _For you know which piece it is I yearn._ **

** _So let us draw our vorpal blades_ **

** _And see who calls a ‘Frabjous Day’._ **

Conan watched as the media freaked out over the heist notice. It was different from before. Last time, he had been on the tail end of the hype, with the facts already known and the initial chaos passed.

Now, he saw the full frenzy of media and fans and police alike. He heard Shizuka pick apart the note he had already deciphered. He watched the newsreels of previous feats of grandeur from KID on TV. He passed people in the streets and heard the undercurrent of excitement from the population of their favorite underdog.

He felt everyone’s confusion of KID’s target. KID never had the same target twice. What made the _Looking Glass Quartz_ so special?

He knew they would never get the answer they wanted.

It was the day of the heist and he convinced Shizuka to let him come along again. In fact, Jirono had asked for him specifically. Since Conan had stopped KID from making off with the gem before, it made sense to have the child appear again.

“A child detective for a KID thief,” Jirono had said. He laughed loudly at his own joke.

Conan hated that it made his job so much easier. He hated that he had to break the man’s trust so quickly.

But it had to be done. They had no other choice. _He_ had no other choice. Not if he wanted his world to continue existing.

So he arrived with Rei and Shizuka at the Sonaki hotel the night of the heist. The place was crawling with police and members of the KID Taskforce and very few guests in sight. After a month on display, excitement over the Lewis Carroll exhibit had settled, so few guests had been in the room when the Taskforce started to set up.

It would not stay that way for long. Conan already saw a small crowd of fans holding signs and cheering for ‘KID-sama’. It made him roll his eyes. Fans for the dorky magician he had come to know? Hilarious.

“Why do they even allow crowds?” Conan wondered aloud. “Why doesn’t Jirono-oji-san just pack up the exhibit and ship it off?”

“For one, he won’t trust a shipping company to have better security than him. The exhibit pieces would be sitting ducks for KID-sama,” Shizuka explained haughtily. “For two, Jirono-oji-san never backs down from a challenge. And cheap ploys like that are a coward’s way out. He would never do something so dishonorable.”

Conan had to wonder, not for the first time, if the people in KID’s universe had a collective drop in IQ.

Then again, Conan had been able to keep up his own ‘child’ act for a year and a half now, despite many close calls. Maybe he should not be throwing stones.

“It’s obvious what his target is this time,” Hakuga said, holding up a copy of the notice. “He basically said we know what piece he wants. Last time we didn’t and he was able to run off with the _Looking Glass Quartz_. Now, it has to be the same one.”

“But it doesn’t make sense!” Makanori argued. “KID doesn’t go after the same target twice! He could actually be referring to the _Queen’s Heart_ we thought he was after last time!”

“Except for the line here: _We meet again, crimson King Amidst a field of red and white._” Hakuga shook the piece of paper. “The King, Queen, and Knight are all references to chess —a game which is set up like a mirrored version of the other side! Meeting in the middle would be the easiest way to see that too! As opposed to one side or the other where the players usually sit!”

“It would make sense, then, if he were after the _Looking Glass Quartz _again,” Jirono commented. “Doubly so since we _know_ he went after it last time.”

Makanori growled in frustration, but backed down. “Fine, then what time will he be striking if you two know him so well?”

“That part is harder.” Hakuga put a finger to his chin in thought. “Nothing really stands out at first except the last two lines. They are a reference to Carroll’s _Jabberwocky_ poem, but there isn’t really a time listed in the verses, not one that translates to any logical sense.”

“Isn’t there?” A new voice asked. Conan froze at the newcomer and bemoaned his luck. He turned just in time to see… Yup.

Hakori Hanaji, strutting up to the Captain of the KID Taskforce and Hakuga, teen detective.

“Another one?!” Makanori exclaimed. He rounded on Jirono. “Just how many teenage detectives did you hire?!”

“He’s the last one, I promise.” Jirono grimaced and crossed his arms. “But if you had the decency to catch KID last time, I wouldn’t need all the extra help.”

Conan snickered at Makanori’s glum look.

“And _who_ are _you_?” Hakuga asked in a patronizing tone.

“The Great Detective of the West, Hakori Hanaji,” Hakori said, prideful, and extended his hand.

Hakuga looked at it then back to Hakori. “Charming. Is that a nickname you came up with yourself?”

Hakori’s jaw slackened at the other detective’s blatant dismissal. He bristled. “Excuse you? Have you never heard of the Detectives of the East and West? Kudou Shinichi and I are a big deal here, you know! Maybe you should go back to your foreign country until you can learn some manners!”

“Kudou Shinichi?” Hakuga brightened immediately at the mention of the name. “You mean Heisei Holmes? The Japanese Sherlock?”

Hakori scoffed. “He’s _nothing_ compared to me.”

Conan subtly kicked his shins.

“Really?” Hakuga’s eyes narrowed. “Prove it then. What time do you think KID will arrive?”

“It’s right there in the poem,” Hakori stated, before reciting in fluent English. “_One-Two, One-Two, and through and through. The vorpal blade went snicker-snack. He left it dead, and with its head, he went galumphing back._ It’s in the first verse there: one two, one two—Twelve past twelve._ Obviously_.”

The three in charge went quiet for a moment before…

“_Shit_, he’s right,” Hakuga grumbled to himself. Hakori shot him a triumphant look, complete with a tongue sticking out. “It was _right there_!”

“So KID is after the _Looking Glass Quartz_ again and he will appear at twelve past twelve tonight,” Makanori recited, making a note in his police notebook. “Have we figured out how he will be arriving or leaving?”

“Not yet, but it should be in the rest of the notice, right?” Jirono said, snatching the copy from Hakuga’s grasp.

“Oi.” Hakori nudged Conan from where he stood beside him. “Any particular reason you aren’t chiming in?”

“I’ve already solved it,” Conan said with a shrug.

“Then you know how he’s arriving, right?” Hakori knelt so they could speak easier. “Why don’t you go enlighten those guys? So we can catch the thief once and for all.”

“I can’t,” Conan said. His shoulders drew up as his gaze dropped.

Hakori frowned. “Why not?”

“Hakori.” Conan’s gaze shot up, catching Hakori’s and holding on tight. “I need you to trust me.”

Hakori blinked. “Okay?”

“Tonight, KID will come. He will take the _Looking Glass Quartz_ and he will leave.” Conan revealed. He watched Hakori’s eyes widen and the other boy’s guard immediately rise. He couldn’t have that. He had to make sure Hakori wouldn’t interfere. “It _needs_ to happen, Hakori. If it doesn’t…”

Conan could not even say it out loud, that was how much the consequence of failure scared him.

Hakori stared at him for several seconds before nodding. Conan was not sure what he saw in his eyes, but it was enough to convince his friend to leave well enough alone.

At least, he thought so.

“I can’t promise I won’t catch him, Conan,” Hakori said as he got to his feet. “I wouldn’t be a detective if I didn’t _try_.”

“I’m not asking you to sit this one out,” Conan said. “Just letting you know that he and I… we’re fighting for more than a gem tonight.”

“You and he?” Hakori asked.

“If tonight goes as planned, I’ll tell you tomorrow,” Conan promised.

“If not?” Hakori frowned.

_Then there won’t be a tomorrow, not for me._ Conan could not say. _And you won’t remember our promise in the first place_.

Instead of answering, Conan turned and headed towards the stairs. With everyone besides Hakori distracted, he was able to slip out and down the stairwell to the garage. There, he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text.

_Oi. Coast is clear_.


	24. Chapter 22

At the chime of the text, I revved the engine and tore out of my hiding place. Like a shadow, I snaked through the streets, slipping under the radar of the helicopters high overhead and into the dimly lit garage. There, Tantei-kun was waiting for me, face pale but determined.

As I slowed to a stop and parked my ride, his face turned to a scowl.

“Oi! I thought you were taking my mom’s bike here,” he yelled over the growl of the engine. “She’ll be _pissed_ to see the new paint job!”

“Calm down, Tantei-kun.” I soothed as I turned off my bike. I let my fingers slide over the pure white metal, happy to have my _own_ bike— _KID’s bike—_ to ride again. I hadn’t seen it since I had left it parked outside of Jii-chan’s place a month ago. Now, it felt like a familiar animal under my fingertips. At his questioning look, I explained. “After seeing Keibu-dono reacting to my heist notice, I figured my other assistant would remember me. I was right and since I left my bike with him, I thought, why not ride in style?”

Tantei-kun did not share in my enthusiasm. “The irregularities are spreading too quickly. We waited too long.”

“I sent out the notice as soon as I got everything set up. Speaking of…” I dug into my pocket and produced the silver project I had been working on all week and just finally finished at one AM this morning. It wasn’t the best, but it would work in a pinch. “Here.”

Tantei-kun eyed it warily.

“You are still going to be my assistant, no?” My question prompted Tantei-kun to sigh and accept the prop. He shook it out carefully to see the glove shape unfold. His face darkened. He knew what it was going to be to start with, but seeing it, I think, made everything _real_ for him.

Adorable little Tantei-kun was about to become an accomplice. Mature, righteous _Meitantei_ was about to become an accomplice. He had no other choice, but I could tell he wished he did.

“Just this once, KID,” Tantei-kun stated as he tugged the glove carefully down his hand. It had been a little snug on the model and left little indents where ends that weren’t smoothly pressed together had poked and prodded, but it was necessary for my plan. After all, if Tantei-kun couldn’t touch the _Looking Glass Quartz_, he couldn’t steal it for me.

“After this, I will always seek to capture you,” he vowed, a fire burning fiercely in his eyes.

“If we ever see each other again after tonight,” I agreed, because that, too, was a possibility.

Tantei-kun stiffened and I realized my mistake at once. Tantei-kun didn’t like to think about the consequences, especially since he would be the one to lose out if we failed. I winced at my faux pas. Though, if we succeeded, it would be the same outcome. Win or lose, we would never see each other again after this night.

The thought stung a little. I wondered if Tantei-kun felt the same.

“Let’s just get this over with,” he said, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Have you thought about how you were going to explain a month-long absence to your friends and family? Or how you were going to catch up in school?”

The thoughts had occurred to me in passing, but I had never dwelt on them long. I probably should have, but I had bigger things on my mind. Though, some ideas came to mind.

“If the school called my mom after my absences, I have no doubt she would have said something along the lines of a trip abroad,” I said as I dismounted and brushed off my pants. White clothes were so hard to keep clean… “It’s a good excuse, if nothing else, and I can always finish up the homework later. Having an IQ of 400 is good for somethings, after all.”

Tantei-kun scowled. “An IQ of 400 isn’t a thing. That’s not an actual number.”

“Maybe in _your_ world it isn’t.” I grinned brightly, despite the fact his words were an echo of those my Blue Princess had said to me when she found out. What can I say? Eidetic memory was really good for boosting IQ scores. “So what am I walking into here?”

“Makanori-keibu, Hakuga, and Shizuka are all here tonight, along with Jirono and Rei,” Tantei-kun reported. His face darkened. “Hakori also decided to make an appearance tonight.”

“Ghost-kun?” I frowned. “I don’t know him well enough to predict his movements.”

“He’s straightforward in everything he does, including chasing down criminals.” Tantei-kun turned to lead the way up the stairs. “But he may pose a bigger obstacle to me than you, if he decides he wants to stick together. With the past few times we’ve interacted during cases, I would bank on that.”

So Tantei-kun would have to work extra hard to separate from him and _stay_ separated. That may throw a wrench into our plans. Unless, of course, I could keep them from meeting up in the first place. It could work, but I would need to be quick with the timing.

I fiddled with the remote in my pocket.

The last I had checked, the mirrors and smokescreen devices were still set up. The Taskforce hadn’t found them yet, nor had Jirono’s own hired hands. But that had been twenty-four hours ago.

I would need Lady Luck’s favor tonight.

“Anything else?” I asked, trying to get my mind off my nerves.

“They have correctly guessed your target.” Tantei-kun took his eyes off the stairs so he could scowl at me. “I don’t know _why_ you insist on being so blatant with your warnings. You could afford to hide _some things_ away, you know?”

I laughed, having heard this argument before, as I constructed the warning. “Don’t blame me! I’m just following in my father’s footsteps! If you have any questions, you’ll have to bring it up with him!”

“Like I could.” Tantei-kun scoffed as he turned back to the stairs to make sure he wouldn’t trip. The ballroom was only a few floors above us now and the time was ticking down. “Hakori got the correct time, but he forgot to add the delay from the time zones like you used at the last heist. 12:12 doesn’t actually refer to twelve past midnight, but rather twelve past noon. With eight hours difference between London and Japan, that puts us at 8:12 pm our time —four hours earlier than they are expecting.”

“Hmm, so I’ll be surprising them yet again?” I grinned to myself. “Lancelot-kun really should be kicking himself after this. After all, it’s _his_ time difference that’s tripping everyone up.”

“I’m sure he’ll be doing so, since he cares about time so much to start with.” The funny thing was, Tantei-kun actually sounded serious. I knew he wasn’t lying, because I knew the other detective, but _still_. “They haven’t figured out how you are going to get in or get out. They don’t know that you’re planning to do a reverse of last time—arriving by ground and leaving by air? Hakori even recited the piece of the poem you referenced, but they didn’t take ‘_galumphing back_’ to mean anything in particular.”

“They should have. I mean, it’s quite obvious.” I paused on the landing just below the door to the ballroom. “Just what do they think ‘galumphing’ means?”

Tantei-kun paused to stare at me for several minutes. I kept my smile plastered to my face.

Finally, he spoke. “… ‘Galumphing’ is not a word. It has no meaning.”

“Which means I can make it say whatever I want.” I flashed my teeth at his sullen expression.

“_No_. That is _not_ what that means!”

“Hush, Tantei-kun.” I put a finger to my lips. “Wouldn’t want someone coming to investigate the noise, neh?”

He growled lowly, but made no other noise as he scaled the rest of the stairs. I checked my watch, seeing that it wasn’t quite time yet.

“Tantei-kun,” I called after him, just loud enough to catch his attention. He paused and looked back. “Be careful where you decide to stand when the time comes. I wouldn’t want you to find yourself caught unawares.”

His eyes narrowed, but he took the warning for what it was. His pace slowed as he made it to the top and opened the door. I quickly followed, needing to put my plan into action. It wasn’t time for my appearance yet, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t set the stage.

From the door, I watched Tantei-kun walk across the room, slow and cautious. He was buying time before the countdown ended. Wisely, he didn’t want to be too close to his friends, should they foil our plans, but he had no real excuse to wander about by himself.

No need to worry, Tantei-kun. I had just the thing in mind.

Ghost-kun had just spotted Tantei-kun and was making his way towards him when I flipped the controls on my remote. In an instant, the power sapper activated and the lights surged before going dark. Emergency lights flicked on and with them, the smoke machines that I had planted weeks ago. Mirrors shot up from the floor at seemingly random intervals, but I knew they were not. Being inside of it, they would look like nothing by chaos, but looking from a top-down view?

They created a wonderful maze for me to play in.

“You didn’t think to get rid of these after the last heist?!” I heard Keibu-dono shout.

One of his men replied. “There was nothing in the floor after the last one! I thought KID had cleared them out on his own!”

“Never trust KID to clean up after himself! That’s rule number four!” And rule number three was: never give away your advantage, not when you could help it.

Sorry, Keibu-dono, looks like this round would go to me.

Dashing from the stairwell door, I ran full speed at the exit of the maze to gain speed. At the last minute, I launched myself upwards with my _Shiroba_ _Pin_, feeling gravity lose its hold on me. Alighting gently on top of the thin ledge of a mirror, I searched the maze for Keibu-dono, then grinned.

“Good evening, Keibu-dono!” I called in greeting. My eyes scanned the maze as I spoke, searching for Tantei-kun. Could I even see him from this height? He was so small… “I see you fell into my trap just like last time!”

“What is this?!” Lancelot demanded. I saw him turn on Ghost-kun with a fiery passion. “You said he would appear at twelve past midnight! You lied! Are you in league with him?!”

“The hell? No!” Ghost-kun shot back. “Not a chance! I must have gotten it wrong!”

“Well, thanks to you, we’re in this mess!”

“I didn’t hear _you_ coming up with any bright ideas!”

“Ghost-kun wasn’t wrong.” I waved my finger. “Only off. If instead of midnight, he said mid_day, _he would be correct.”

“That doesn’t make sense!” Lancelot argued. “It isn’t midday!”

“It is in England.” I laughed at the look on his face.

“… The time difference. _Just like last time_.”

“Hah! I was right, you bastard! Take that!”

“Though, I guess that doesn’t really help you right now.” I cast a thoughtful look around at the trapped people. “Seeing as you’re already caught in my trick.”

“Curse you, Kaitou KID!” Keibu-dono called, only _just_ holding back from worse words. He must have kept the children in mind when tempering his insults. Isn’t that adorable? “You won’t get away this time! When I get out of this maze—!”

“Out?” I tipped my head to the side, taunting him with a grin. “Why ever would you want to get out? After all…”

I brought both hands to my chest to subtly brush my fingers against my tie pin, then held my hands out wide. At once, an image separated from me, mirroring my form, my actions, my words. Both of us spoke and acted as one, grinning with wide grins. “I have decided to join you in the maze tonight! After all, it wouldn’t do to have the assistant run about and the magician pose for the audience.”

And, to the scream of insults and indignations from Keibu-dono, my copy and I leapt into the glass maze.

The show was on, Tantei-kun.


	25. Chapter 23

Conan’s heart beat like a loud drum in his ears as the room filled with smoke and the mirrors shot up from the floor. He heard Rei squeak as she and Shizuka got surrounded and he saw Hakori running towards him just as the mirrors darted into his path. His friends had been successfully separated from him, leaving him with no obstacles in his path. He hated his fortune, but it was what he needed to accomplish his task.

“You didn’t think to get rid of these after the last heist?!” the Inspector shouted.

“There was nothing in the floor after the last one! I thought KID had cleared them out on his own!”

“Never trust KID to clean up after himself! That’s rule number four!” Conan wondered what the other three rules were and how many there were in total, but KID’s entry signaled the start of his task.

The map he had spent hours memorizing before jumped to the front of his mind, but it was useless without knowing where he was. He would have to find a landmark before he could find his target.

Cautiously, he took a step forward, hand held out just in case. Some of the panels held clear panes instead of mirrors, making the maze extra tricky. The area before him was obstacle-free. He took another step, checking the next sectioned area. Clear again.

He clenched his teeth.

His method of checking was taking too long. He did not have a lot of time before someone found him and he needed to be alone to complete his task. Impatient, he hurried forward —only to ram his face into a clear pane he had not expected. He let out a yelp of pain.

“Conan!” Rei called. “Was that you? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine!” Conan replied, internally cursing the thief.

“We should stick together,” she suggested. “Conan, can you follow the sound of my voice?”

“I’m coming!” he yelled back, heading _away_ from her as they spoke. He was more careful, but he was working with a time limit. The corridors twisted this way and that, slowly meandering their way to each exhibit. Once he found one, he was able to position himself and following his mental map was much easier after that.

He constantly had to duck people in the maze, but with KID distracting over half of them, he found doing so fairly easy. At one point, KID ran past him, startling him. Conan raced back a corner, just in time to evade the Taskforce that was hot on KID’s heels. Once the stampede was gone, he headed back in, intent on his goal.

Something sparkled on the floor. He spared just enough time to pick it up, finding it to be the key Jirono had used on the _Looking Glass Quartz_’ locked case. How thoughtful of KID, getting this for him.

In no time, he was before his target, searching the pedestal for the keyhole Jirono had used. The key slid into place, drawing the keypad out. Conan fumbled with the keypad, unable to see the numbers themselves. KID had memorized the code from the one time he saw it and shared it with Conan, but putting in the numbers by memory was harder to do when he could not see what he was pressing.

Luck seemed to be on his side that night, because he heard the affirmative chime after some careful button presses. Turning the key, the glass case hissed as the lock slid open, allowed the case to move.

Short as he was, Conan could just barely see the glint of the stone on the pedestal. Reaching out with his silver-gloved hand, Conan hesitated, just the slightest bit before steeling himself and grasping the _Looking Glass Quartz_ firmly in his hand. Concealed by the silver and his palm, Conan stuffed it into his pocket and left the display behind.

His target was in hand. Now he just had to get it to KID.

Returning to his mental map, he slowly made his way to the exit of the maze where KID and he were to meet. He heard the Taskforce off in the far left corner of the maze and Rei in the far right. Hakuga and Hakori were arguing with each other somewhere between the two, so he was in the clear.

The exit was in sight, but it was empty of a white figure. He was just wondering how to contact KID when a voice spoke up. “Not bad, Tantei-kun. Perhaps you should give up detective work and become my assistant full time.”

Conan scoffed and turned to where KID stood. “Not hardly. I told you, this was a one-time thing.”

“A shame.” KID sighed. “You are so helpful when you choose to be.”

“Whatever,” Conan said. He held up their prize. “You know how to use this?”

“I have some ideas,” KID said, taking the gem. “It has a delayed reaction, so it might take some time to be sure, but at least the gem won’t be walking off on us.”

Conan made a noise of agreement, when he saw a second white figure leap onto the tops of the mirrors. His eyes darted between KID and the second figure, determining them to be the same. “How did you…?”

“Ah, ah, ah!” KID shook his finger with a grin. “A magician never reveals his tricks.”

A loud yell suddenly rang out through the room. “_Kaitou KIIIIID!”_

“And that’s my cue to leave,” KID decided. “If the gem works like last time, I’ll have until midnight. You know where to find me, Tantei-kun.”

Before Conan could say another word, the thief was off, disappearing up the stairwell.

Just as the white figure disappeared, Hakuga and Hakori appeared at the end of the long corridor of mirrors. Hakuga looked around wildly for any sign of the thief, but Hakori’s gaze was locked onto Conan’s. His eyes widened at whatever he saw before they narrowed in some emotion Conan couldn’t name.

Conan could not bear to see his gaze. He turned his eyes away.

The heist was over quickly after that. It took time for everyone to find the exits of the maze. The Inspector checked everyone for a disguise but the thief was long gone. Conan stuck around until Shizuka took Rei and him home. There, Conan asked if he could sleep over at Hakase’s place. She had no reason not to let him, so he took off, promising her he would be safe.

He ran from the hotel to Hakase’s place, seeing snippets of the heist on every news station and every TV store. He made it all the way to Hakase’s place, then further as he went to his house instead. There, he climbed the stairs to the second floor. There were many places KID could be in the house, but Conan was pretty sure he knew where the thief, high off adrenaline, would choose to sit and clear his head.

Sure enough, he found him on the balcony, staring up at the full moon.

He was still dressed as KID, the same clothes he had appeared with and would likely disappear with. That is, if they did this right.

“Did you do it?” Conan asked.

The thief held up the gem, looking through it in the moonlight. The chain dangled around his wrist. “I’ve depleted its magic, but I don’t know if it was enough to replicate what happened last time.”

“So there’s still a possibility it might not work.” Conan gritted his teeth. If so, what would happen then? “We don’t have time to try again.”

“We don’t,” KID agreed. Silence, then, “If our world’s merge, and you need a place to stay, you can always look me up. You shared your house, so it’s only fair that I share mine.”

Conan clenched his fists. The ‘if you aren’t expelled from existence entirely’ went unsaid, but he could feel it hanging like a guillotine over his head.

They fell into silence.

“Can I ask you something?” KID’s voice suddenly broke the silence. Conan looked at him, then back to the full moon overhead. He made a noise of acknowledgement. “That day, a week ago, when I came to pick you up from school, why were you so insistent that I didn’t call you Tantei-kun?”

Conan remembered that day vividly. He scowled into the night, even as his cheeks turned pink.

“Well?” Kid prodded.

“If the Shounen Tantei-dan heard you call me that, they would _all_ want to be called that. They wouldn’t think it fair that I was called a detective and they weren’t,” Conan continued more quietly, voice more of a mumble. “I didn’t want to share.”

There was silence for a moment, so long Conan almost feared that KID had finally left. But no, he still sat beside him when Conan checked.

Those indigo eyes were trained on him; a soft smile split the other’s lips. “You know, for being a mature sixteen-year-old, that’s kind of childish of you.”

“O-Oi!” Conan squawked as KID cracked up. His laughter echoed through the night, but Conan couldn’t find it in him to mind.

“Sorry, sorry!” KID said insincerely. “I wasn’t making fun of you.”

“Yes, you were,” Conan argued.

“Okay, I was.” KID held up his fingers, pinched together. “Only a little though!”

Conan went back to scowling at the moon.

“Oh, before I forget. I should probably give this back to you,” KID said, a phone appearing in his hand. “I don’t think it will work in my world.”

The familiar red case reminded Conan of Rei as it was her favorite color. It was the same phone that was her only connection to his older self. For a moment, he almost told the thief to keep it, but knew he was not strong enough for that.

“Thanks,” he said, taking the phone from KID. He flipped it open and went through the text messages. He debated deleting the conversation between him and KID when another conversation caught his eye. It was from an unsaved number and had three simple words.

_ Just in case. _

“Oi, what’s with this text?” Conan asked, looking up.

But KID was gone. The space where he had sat was empty.

Conan checked the time on the phone just to see it was a minute past midnight.

_Instead of Lewis Carroll, maybe Cinderella would have been a better theme._ He thought as he put the phone away.

With KID disappearing, it was probably safe to say that he had returned to his universe, but double checking would not hurt. So thinking, Conan went back in the balcony doors and down the hall to where his room was —should be.

Peaking in, he let out a relieved sigh and pushed the door open.

His bed was exactly as he had left it—or rather KID left it, seeing as the thief had used his room during his stay. There were a few more clothes in the hamper and a few spare cards and coins scattered on his desk. Other than that, his desk still had his text books neatly stacked and his Holmes novel lay on his nightstand.

Everything was as it should be.

Conan threw himself onto his bed, exhausted beyond belief. The sheets smelled different. The dust had aired out and the unique scent of detergent had filled them again. Under that though, there was the faint scent of chemical smoke not unlike that of the smoke screen from tonight’s heist. Part of his mind wondered what it was, but part of his mind already knew.

Comforted by the scent, Conan fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * * * *

When he woke, he checked in with Haibara and Hakase. They remembered the person that stayed at Conan’s home for the last month, but the name Kaitou KID did not bring up any other memories. Rei remembered Hakase’s ‘nephew’, but the name did not ring any bells. Same with Shizuka, thought she seemed to think it was the name of a new cartoon of some sort.

Hakori remembered his meeting with the man and was glad he had made it home, but had no idea why he had decided to travel to Tokyo after school that Friday. Conan tried to ignore the relief that welled up at the thought of Hakori forgetting about Conan’s brief criminal record.

“I must have smelled a case,” he decided. Conan did not bother correcting him as that quickly became the reason. A scream from across the park told them a murder had occurred, just like it usually did when the two met up.

Life continued as usual.

There was one link Conan did not know what to do with.

One day, while playing in the park with the kids, Conan spotted a man sitting on a bench as if waiting for someone. The man looked strangely familiar, though Conan had no idea why.

“Ah, isn’t that Bokuro Toushi?” Mitsuhiko asked, excitement evident in his voice. “I saw him on TV yesterday! He’s a great magician!”

“Magician?” Genta beamed and started running over. “Bokuro-sensei! Show us some magic!”

“G-Genta-kun!” Ayumi hurried after worriedly. “Don’t ask like that! It’s rude!”

Reeled in by his own curiosity, Conan picked up the ball they had been playing with and followed the three. Bokuro was already sheepishly putting on little tricks for the kids, to gasps and coos of awe.

“That’s so cool!” Genta cheered. “I want to try!”

“How did you do that?” Ayumi asked.

“Ayumi-chan, you can’t ask that. A magician never reveals his tricks!” Mitsuhiko recited, looking to the man for approval. “Isn’t that right?”

“Very good. You would make a good magician,” Bokuro praised before scanning the park. His shoulders slumped.

“Are you looking for someone, Oji-san?” Conan asked, despite already knowing the answer.

“Oh, not really. There was a man here a week or two ago that was putting on magic tricks. I wanted to see him again, but…” The man sighed. “I supposed he’s moved on.”

If the person was who Conan thought he was… “Was it the Nii-san that ‘magicked’ a flower in greeting?”

The man’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”

“It’s a signature trick of yours. I figured you would be interested in where he learned to do it.” Conan shrugged as he presented the easy deduction. “Sorry, but that Nii-san has already gone home. I don’t think you’ll see him around here again.”

“Oh? Does he live far?” the man wondered aloud.

“Too far to travel easily,” Conan replied. “Sorry, Oji-san.”

“That’s fine. It was just a passing interest.” The man smiled down at Conan. “You’re quite the detective, you know. Knowing exactly who I was referring to.”

“I get that a lot.” Conan smiled wickedly, then turned to the others. “Hey, are we gonna finish our game or what?”

They did and the man left, taking the last trace of KID in this world with him.

* * * * *

It was three months after and two days until the next full moon and Conan could not help but think of the night that had landed KID in his world.

Back then, KID had been nothing more than a note on a screen and a challenge in the air. The deciphering of the notice, the feeling of superiority over the police and other detectives who had incorrectly guessed the time and method of exit, the rush of knowing he was right —it had been a night of exhilaration.

He regretted he would never get that feeling again.

Then he came home to a TV switching from the homicide case he had helped solve to a breaking news article. A familiar logo and handwritten card greeted him.

How…?

His phone buzzed. The unsaved number —now labelled ‘KID’ had one new message.

_ Miss me Tantei-kun? ;) _

Conan grinned.

END

**Author's Note:**

> Can I just say that this whole project has taken a lot out of me? Like, a lot. 
> 
> I took the month of June to finish writing Rough Draft, which are the events surrounding the actual writing of this novel by Shinichi and Kaito. Then I took July to write this. Both of them combined hit the 100,000 word mark. It's like two Nanowrimos back-to-back. And I'm kind of proud that I managed it? :)
> 
> And it's all thanks to you guys who encourage me with your comments and reactions to what I write. I feel like we wrote this one together, even though a majority of this was written before you guys knew anything about it. And having so many people respond to my surveys really made me happy. :) I'm glad I was able to be more interactive with you guys for this project.
> 
> I don't know if this was what you were imagining for Kaito and Shinichi's X-over or not, but I hope you are happy with the work I've done. :) I had a lot of fun writing it and coming up with things for Shinichi and Kaito to talk about and hearing your thoughts as more and more things were revealed. I really hope that I was able to live up to expectations. :)
> 
> If you would like to leave a comment, please feel free. I can't guarantee I'll respond immediately, since I have one more thing to add to this series before I go on Hiatus to get ready for the next project, but I'll try to reply to as many of you as possible. :)
> 
> Thank you once again for all the encouragement and motivation you guys have given me. :) I'll see you all next week!


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